In Search of a God
by YamiRuss
Summary: Bryan and Matt have searched, wondering how the god cards escaped their protection at Duel Academy. Holding only Uria, Lord of Searing Flames in his possession, Bryan is invited to a competition between the god cards. This is his one chance to return them to their rightful place, even if it means going up against the leader of the Hellfire Club himself.
1. One Who Will Defy the Gods

_Obvious disclaimer: If I owned Yu-Gi-Oh!, this story would already be part of either a series or a game. Because I do not, this is simply here for your enjoyment._

* * *

Chapter 1: Ones Who Will Defy the Gods

"For those of you just tuning in, I'm Al Meredith here with Kirk Jackson discussing the amazing end to the tournament at the Duel Monsters Coliseum just completed this past December. No one thought these two underdog challengers would make it to the finals, but these two came out of the chute swinging…"

"I think you're mixing your metaphors from two different sports there."

"…sacking the heavy contenders from the word 'go.'"

"Now you've added two more."

"Watch here as the odds-on favorite loses his advantage in this devastating display of the newest addition to the game of Duel Monsters, brought to us by the Industrial Illusions division of Kaiba Corp."

The camera moved past the talking heads to review footage from the dueling tournament in question. On one end was a tall, bulky duelist with a Cyber Dragon (2100) in front of him, and on the other end was a thinner duelist with white hair and a steady expression on his face.

"See here," Al Meredith spoke, "how Stevenson doesn't flinch even though his opponent just dominated his Six Samurai deck on the last turn?"

"To be fair, he still has a full hand with many options. That Marine Corps discipline helped him plan out his moves fully in advance in case of situations such as this one."

The holographic projectors between the two duelists presented monsters that were almost completely opaque and looked fully real—the most advanced programming yet offered on a dueling stage. Chad Stevenson, a retired Marine Corps colonel with a penchant for military strategy, placed a total of three cards on the plates of his Duel Disk, which then transmitted the signatures of the cards to the projectors for holographic rendering.

The four-armed warrior Legendary Six Samurai – Kageki (3/200/2000) was the first card to hit the field, but with an added monster effect, he did not need to stare down the enemy alone. He was promptly joined by The Six Samurai – Irou (4/1700/1200), a blind kensei with a righteous heart that always took him down the path of least bloodshed. With a monster effect of his own granting him the privilege, Legendary Six Samurai – Kizan (4/1800/500) joined as field commander—the very portrait of a grandmaster as a young man.

"Notice here the effective use of the Six Samurai's ability to swarm the field. That was necessary for him to make this next move, which is already reputed to be the next big thing in dueling. See how Irou and Kizan both disappear from the field like that? He's not sending them to the Graveyard pile: He's _overlaying_ them in order to perform an XYZ Summon."

"It's pronounced _/ik-seez/_."

"Using a new ranking system with the monsters, he turns these two level four samurai into a Rank 4 Shadow of the Six Samurai – Shien (4/2500/400), a card with more points than any normal level four monster out there." Indeed, the hologram revealed a warrior of greater stature than those he replaced, wielding both the mastery of the Six Samurai style and the support tactics of the Shien clan. "I tell you, the critics are already in love with this new overlay system. Of course, the favored duelist Bryan Knight wasn't too thrilled with it at the time."

"He seems fine with it," Kirk Jackson argued. On screen, Stevenson's opponent didn't even hide behind his Cyber Dragon. He stood off the side in plain view with his arms folded across his chest as if nothing bothered him.

"And here comes another monster effect," announced Al Meredith like a kid on Christmas. "By detaching one of the XYZ material monsters…"

"Ik-seez."

"…Shien actually raises the power of Kageki to 2000 points. On top of that, Kageki's own ability raises his points by another 1500 just because he's a team player. That gives this ordinarily weak warrior a whopping 3500 attack points! And that's more than enough to take down Knight's Cyber Dragon (2100)." The four-armed Kageki raised his swords and whirled around, becoming a bladed tornado tearing across the field.

"And let me tell ya, this was a particularly inspired move by the disciplined Stevenson. His two monsters are as strong as warriors can get, but they're only level four, which means the Grave of the Super Ancient Organism Knight used earlier to restrict any level six monsters doesn't affect either one of these two. So this attack goes through cleanly."

"Except for one thing," Kirk Jackson pointed out. On stage, Bryan Knight wore a shiny necklace dragged by an amulet formed from studs of six gems and a piece of onyx. As he dropped a card from his hand into his Graveyard, the amulet produced a transparent black barrier that absorbed completely the shock of Kageki's continuous strikes. "Knight uses the effect of Depth Amulet once more to negate the attack."

"He did, and you know he was planning something really big because that move right there left him with only _one card_ to play for his next turn."

"Well… Technically he does get a chance to draw a new card at the beginning of his turn, so he has _two_ cards to play."

Al Meredith continued: "Unfortunately, the Cyber Dragon couldn't stick around after Shien got through with him." Shien raised his sword and arched it over his head, holding his right arm out as bait. He thrust his free arm toward the metallic serpent on the other side of the field, causing the serpent to flinch. At the instant the serpent recoiled, Shien pulled his sword arm down and thrust his long sword across the entire length of the field, piercing the belly of the Cyber Dragon. Motor oil leaked from the wound like blood. When Shien ripped his sword away, motor oil poured from the wound momentarily, and the Cyber Dragon simply exploded—metallic pieces flying everywhere.

Knight 2100 – 400 = 1700 LP: Stevenson 2500 LP.

With the recent holographic upgrade, many monsters also received new programming to include more exciting and violent (oftentimes longer) display sequences. The length of the average televised duel increased by ten minutes, but the ratings took a massive jump.

"And here is the moment you've all tuned in for," Al Meredith described. "The moment the student from Duel Academy turns the duel into his victory." He sounded snide as he said, "_After he drew a card to begin his turn,_ Knight immediately sent Depth Amulet, Imperial Custom, and Grave of the Super Ancient Organism off the field in order to summon one of the few cards out there that is both legitimate and one-of-a-kind: Uria, Lord of Searing Flames (10/+5000/+5000)."

A small flame sparked into existence in the center of the field. Flickering softly, the flame appeared to die for a moment before flaring up again, bigger the second time. With a sudden explosion of fire power, the flames grew until they engulfed the entire stage. The stadium's sprinkler system went off as if there were some malfunction, but it was simply an addition to the holographic features. The flames settled and began to transform into solid, red scales—a body coiled like a winged snake about to strike. A serpentine dragon burst from the flame, becoming the flame itself. A single, gut-wrenching roar started fires in the corners of the stage.

Suddenly Al Meredith and Kirk Jackson froze in place, completely motionless.

Dr. Gabrielle Houtz popped in front of the screen. "So this right here is one of the legendary god cards so highly regarded in Duel Monsters history. As you may recall from our first class period, the god cards were formerly kept here at Duel Academy before they went missing. Now, only Uria's location is fully known. Can anyone tell me something else about the legendary god cards? Anything at all?"

A dozen hands went up, but Dr. Houtz suddenly stopped and frowned. She had a very expressive face, and her frown was enough to cause every hand to drop back down. "Hold on. Where's Bryan? This whole lesson was supposed to be about his recent championship."

Carter Jade answered by pointing toward the far wall of the lecture hall. "I saw him heading that way a little while ago. Wait." He made a face and moved his finger in three different directions as if mentally retracing his steps to figure out which way he was facing when he saw Bryan outside. "Yep. That way."

"Where was he going? Did he at least have a good reason for skipping class?"

Carter shrugged. "Well, Lucy was with him. Since they're engaged, I'd guess he thinks it's a good reason. Probably not school appropriate."

Dr. Houtz didn't even look upset. She slumped back on her heels and sighed. "Lucky."

* * *

"This is the right way to spend January," spoke the half-naked man as he gazed into the sky. Though he wore nothing more than swim trunks, his body helped keep him warm with a layer of bulky muscle and a high metabolic rate. Of course, the steam vents releasing hot air into the hot springs in which he soaked himself didn't hurt. Bryan Knight was never intrigued by the polar bear club—those guys who swim in almost-freezing water in the middle of winter—but the hot springs were an excellent way to warm up when there was snow on the ground.

Not that it was necessary to take a dip in the hot springs. The mere sight of his girlfriend Lucy Mercer was enough to raise Bryan's pulse, although there was something exciting and exotic about seeing her in the hot springs. Thanks to the contrast between the water's temperature and the surrounding air temperature, a light mist rose from the surface, granting just enough illusion to Bryan's eye that he could imagine she was there without the bikini.

Actually, that was already the least he ever convinced her to wear in a place occupied by more than just the two of them. Rather shy about her body, Lucy was the type of girl to cover up with clothes a few sizes too big. As long as she focused on Bryan and remembered the mist offered a veil over her, she could pretend the hot springs were private and that no other couples or physical therapy patients existed within a thousand miles.

"Forget the cold air," Bryan continued. "Let's just stay here forever."

"I'm finding it very hard to argue with you," she said as she laid her hands on his strong but softening chest. In his high school days, he was a football player, but his interest in the weight room had waned from _intense_ to _reasonable_ in the past few years, leaving him with his size but dwindling his muscle tone. To Lucy, he was beautiful. "It is one advantage of going to school near an active volcano."

"The _only_ advantage," he corrected her, but it was a true advantage. To him, hiding her body was a crime. Though she was bigger than movie stars and models, she had a wondrous figure and soft facial features that caught the attention of any guy who bothered to look high enough to see. He held her close within his arms, and enjoyed the mere touch of her skin.

"Didn't you have somewhere to be this morning?" she asked him.

"Nowhere more important than here."

* * *

Duel Academy had a hierarchy among the students. All first-years were dropped into the Red Dorm, the lowest level referred to as "Slifer Reds" back before the school expanded into a four-year university. The basic amenities were all present, but the general motto of the dorm was to thrust the students into the "real world" by offering them supplies of much lower quality than those given to students with higher ranks. Competition was everything in Duel Academy. One could duel for a higher rank to obtain slightly better materials, but Red supplies never measured up to the next level.

The students who survived the curriculum and tuition into the second year graduated to the Yellow Dorm. The amenities were scarcely of higher quality than in the Red Dorm: Some suspected the reason was Duel Academy viewed everyone ranked lower than 25th to be essentially the same while others believed the Yellow Dorm was truly the lowest level of the hierarchy, only offered better supplies through experience and patience of the first year.

Matthew Luther was once a resident of the Blue Mansion, an aptly named dormitory that offered the space and comfort of a boarding school in itself. Students in that dorm were offered their own rooms and more expensive furniture for decorating them. And the ratio of students to bathrooms dropped tremendously. On top of all that, the food prepared in the dining hall was among the best cuisine in the Pacific Ocean.

Before his junior year began, Matt failed to register for classes in a timely manner due to personal issues. He successfully enrolled in classes for the fall semester, but his rank was immediately dropped to the lowest number in the Yellow Dorm. Despite his excellent performance on the fall finals and the fact that he saved the world from Armageddon, he was still held back in the Yellow Dorm when the spring semester began.

On the first day of the semester, Matt was eating lunch with his friend Sean Bivins. Lunch was some kind of attempt at pasta: edible, but the sauce was runny and the pasta crunched a tad with each bite. Drawing on his humor to get him through the meal, he asked Sean, "Did you ever hear the one about the kid who saved the lives of his entire dorm? He killed the cook?"

Sean replied, "No. How does it go?"

The food was as healthy as college food is expected and students could always purchase their own groceries if they opted to skip the campus meal plan, but want of a better lunch and a quieter bathroom led Matt to barge directly into the office of Dr. Kevin Lankford, the senior professor at Duel Academy and the faculty advisor for the Blue Mansion. He demanded in a perfectly subservient voice to be allowed into the Blue Mansion, which was promptly denied.

And then he used the C-word: He _challenged_ Dr. Lankford to a duel. Quite simply, he offered, his victory would gain him entry into the higher dorm and his defeat would make him lose every duel of the semester just to offer Dr. Lankford the show of watching Matt humiliate himself. Dr. Lankford never cared much for Matt, plus his competitive spirit appreciated the gamble.

But Matt didn't see it as a gamble. He spent the previous semester getting to know himself better than ever. For the first time in his life, he had complete control—over mind and cards.

"If this is strictly a duel between us, then we do not need an audience, correct?"

"Sure," Matt agreed sarcastically. "Why make a spectacle of the senior professor dueling the strongest student? Who'd want to watch that?"

"Sarcasm notwithstanding," Dr. Lankford continued, "we don't need to draw unnecessary attention to our duel, either; therefore, we will simply play a game of cards on a table top."

"Should I also wear earth tones so I don't stand out in the hallway?"

Dr. Lankford gave him a serious look. "Do you want me to change my mind about the duel?"

"You wouldn't do that," Matt assured him jovially. "You want to put me in my place. I might, however, ask for a single spectator—a neutral third party to act as judge to any arguable plays and to resolve any disputes between us. Plus, it's just a witness to keep us both honest about the outcome."

"You have no qualms about losing?"

"No one likes to lose," Matt pointed out. "But to rephrase your question, I am willing to accept my loss if the result is, indeed, my loss. I'm not looking to settle any scores here: I just want access to the dorm where I already deserve to reside."

The professor glared at Matt for a moment. The yellow jacket really did clash with the student's pallor. Everything about him seemed like dueling would be the last field of study he'd choose. He was reasonably muscular and was basically justifyied the existence of the Duel Academy recreation center by himself. He was intelligent and strategically-minded, even if he was too wild and uncontrolled for such a social competition. He had difficulty with losing, and he went off on such tangents people had tremendous difficulty enduring a full conversation with him at times. Despite the seriousness with which most people competed in Duel Monsters, Matthew Luther treated it as nothing more than a hobby… and occasionally a bargaining chip.

"Let's do this in my office. Shouldn't take more than twenty minutes without the holograms."

"It'll also be less exciting, but I accept your terms."

Matt grudgingly accepted the lack of a third-party judge when he saw the size of Dr. Lankford's office. It was probably the biggest one occupied by any professor, but he loaded it with piles of mechanical equipment and lined the walls with books, both academic and bound cards. There was plenty of room for Dr. Lankford to sit behind the desk and a student to sit on the opposite side, but any third person would have to stand in the doorway. No one ever showed up when Lankford shuffled his deck and started the duel.

While slapping down a yellow card, Dr. Lankford said, "Alexandrite Dragon (4/2000/100)."

"Why do you get to go first?" Matt asked.

"My office, my rules."

"Well, I guess that's fair." Matt's hand offered him a variety of options. The Alexandrite Dragon was among the most powerful level four monsters in the game, but it had no special abilities. Matt could overpower the card, set up a counter strategy, or take the defensive until he witnessed Lankford's strategy. But he didn't want to be passive about it: Matt wanted to guess Lankford's strategy and confront him head-on, making little adjustments as he needed to.

To Matt, his opponent was a puzzle, and no one wanted to wait for the answer to present itself. Lankford wasn't a difficult read. He came from the only family to revere the Blue-Eyes White Dragon. He was a beatdown duelist, and the best way to earn his respect was to beat his cards down.

Placing an orange card on the table, Matt said, "Jain, Lightsworn Paladin (4/1800/1200), attack mode."

"A lightsworn deck?" Dr. Lankford asked. But he shook his head as if to answer his own question. "No, not you. A twilight deck, perhaps? Taking a page from your old mentor?"

"Haruki Yagawa gave me a good outline," Matt admitted, "but any good duelist takes what his predecessors leave him and fits it to their personalities. Wouldn't you say so?"

Lankford tapped the desk. "Just make your move."

Matt grinned. He was already under Lankford's skin. "When Jain attacks, he gains 300 points. Your monster is destroyed." He could have placed a card or two on the field to deter Lankford from retaliating, but he suspected that the bothered Lankford was already off his game and would retreat temporarily.

As part of Jain's effect, Matt sent two cards from the top of his deck to his discard pile.

Matt 8000: Lankford 8000 – 100 = 7900.

"In that case, I will set a monster and one additional card."

"Ah," Matt groaned. "Running away so soon?" He placed Ehren, Lightsworn Monk (4/1600/1000) on the table. "A learned professor like you must have all these effects memorized, right? So I don't even have to tell you that when Ehren attacks your monster, your monster gets returned to the deck without being destroyed." When Lankford didn't even flinch, Matt doubted that he read his opponent correctly, and he became nervous to declare a direct attack. "Jain attacks you directly. Do you wish to continue?" That was code for: "Is that a Trap Card lying on the field in front of you?"

Lankford shook his head.

"Very well. My turn's done."

Matt 8000: Lankford 7900 – 1800 = 6100.

Per the combined effects of Jain and Ehren, Matt sent five cards from the top of his deck to the discard pile. When he saw one of the cards, he said, "My mistake. One more move: I'll summon Wulf, Lightsworn Beast (4/2100/300). Sorry to be so bothersome, but when he goes from my deck to the Graveyard, he summons himself to the field. Anxious little beastie. I hope that's not a problem." He was trying to draw a reaction from Lankford. Reading reactions was how he predicted the cards.

"Shouldn't be." Lankford settled quickly from his previous tension. Suddenly his expression was like stone—much harder for Matt to predict. "I've decided to change out my hand. I don't need these three cards," he said as he dropped three cards in his own discard pile, "but I'll summon this one." He played Montage Dragon (8/?/0).

Matt asked, "What were those three cards?" Lankford fanned out Blue-Eyes Shining Dragon (10), Chthonian Emperor Dragon (6), and Golem Dragon (4). "And Montage Dragon's attack points equal the levels of those three monsters times 300, right? 6000 points?"

"I hope that's not a problem."

_Now he's mocking me._ Keeping his own stony expression, Matt said, "Shouldn't be."

"Good. Confidence is necessary to get into the Blue Mansion, but it's not sufficient. Montage Dragon to Ehren, Lightsworn Monk."

"I'll remove Necro Gardna from play," Matt interrupted. He reached into the cards he discarded during the last two turns and pulled one of them out of his discard pile, but he didn't put it back in his deck: He placed it off to the side of the table. "Sorry, but that negates your attack. Odd how a two-headed monster only gets one attack, yeah? Also weird that it has only _two_ heads when you have to discard _three_ dragons to summon it. Oh well. Now you've got a 6000-point paperweight." It was easy to say that, but reality was much harsher when facing a monster worth two Blue-Eyes White Dragons.

"We'll see. I'll play Super Rejuvenation to draw three cards." Specifically, he drew one card for every discarded dragon. "That's all for now."

Despite the arrogant front he put forth, Matt was reluctant to accept the terms set for this duel. Not only was Dr. Kevin Lankford arguably the strongest Duel Academy professor since the schools inception sixty years earlier, but he was overly suspicious of Matt already. Every look in his eyes gave Matt the impression that he had no secrets from the man. Somehow, maybe, Lankford knew about the ethereal spirit that lived within Matt's body. That had to be why he wanted a duel without the holograms. Holograms offered too much hubbub—too many distractions: It was harder to detect the fluctuations in Matt's duel energy. A quiet duel would force Matt to think twice before drawing upon that hidden wealth of duel energy.

Matt cleared his mind of all but the face of a single card and let his arm swipe a card from the deck on auto-pilot. He didn't allow himself normal thought until he looked down and saw that he had, indeed, drawn the card he wanted. He resisted the smile that pulled at the corners of his mouth. Did Lankford see it?

"Cool. So I've deduced that your facedown card is probably not a threat to me—maybe something to help you swarm the field with dragons—so I'm going to send Jain and Ehren to the Graveyard as Tributes in order to summon Darklord Desire (10/3000/2800)." He really wished they were playing with holograms on this one. Desire was a fallen angel wearing wicked, black armor and just generally looked badass when rendered in 3D. "By reducing his attack 1000 points, I can send any monster on your field straight to the Graveyard." As Lankford reluctantly moved his card from the field, Matt waved. "Do not pass Go. Do not collect two hundred dollars."

"Are you always like this?"

"Isn't that why you don't want me in your dorm?"

Lankford knew better than to answer that question in any way. He couldn't accept the premise of the statement without admitting bias, and any response would lend credence to the fact that Matt would even ask.

Bored of waiting for an answer, Matt said, "Yeah. Anyway… Desire (-2000) and Wulf will attack directly, and that's all I'll do."

Matt 8000: Lankford 6100 – 4100 = 2000.

"For a twilight deck featuring Darklords, you run surprisingly few Traps and Spells," Lankford prodded.

"I keep discarding them with my Lightsworn monsters. Every single card I've drawn into my hand so far has been a monster."

That sounded like a crock if Lankford ever heard one. Matt was too clever to shortchange the support cards. He was waiting for something before playing a support card—perhaps a swarm of Blue-Eyes White Dragons. Odds were that's what everyone who ever dueled him expected Lankford to play. Looking at the cards in his hand, he considered doing exactly that to avoid disappointing his cocky opponent.

Lankford placed a green card on the field. "Pot of Greed." He didn't bother to explain it because everyone knew Pot of Greed let its user draw two cards from the deck. He placed a second green card on the field. "Monster Reborn will revive Chthonian Emperor Dragon (6/2400/1500). Do you know what a Gemini monster is?"

"A monster that has an effect but is treated as a Normal monster on the field and in the Graveyard until its effect is unlocked through a Gemini Summon? The process of Gemini Summoning gives it a powerful effect that has very few drawbacks at the mere cost of skipping your Normal Summon for the turn?

"Nope. Never heard of 'em."

Lankford was fluent in sarcasm and usually allowed it, but he hated being spoken to with such heavily sarcasm-laden speech. He was nearing his breaking point. "I Gemini Summon Chthonian Emperor Dragon and attack both your monsters." Once Gemini-summoned, Lankford's monster gained the ability to attack twice during the same Battle Phase.

Matt 8000 – 700 = 7300: Lankford 2000.

"There you go," Matt said. "You scratched my Life Points. At this rate of decline, I'm only going to beat you eight times before you beat me once. If it's any consolation, I think that means you beat the spread."

"Stop the insolence now," Lankford requested sternly.

Matt nodded once. "Okay." He turned over a green card in his hand. "Solar Recharge, so I discard a Lightsworn, draw two cards, and send two from the top of my deck to the Graveyard. I'll set a monster in defense mode and set two additional cards behind it." He held out his hand cordially. "Your move." Lankford didn't understand Matt's willingness to lay off the sarcasm, but he didn't wish to question it, either. Whatever reason Matt had for shutting up was good enough.

In reality, there was no mystery. Matt was willing to filter his comments if the people around him asked for it. Not everyone found sarcasm funny. As aggressive as he could be, he rarely sought to upset people who didn't deserve it: Lankford only deserved it a little bit.

"Polymerization fuses three Blue-Eyes into Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon (12/4500/3800)."

"Ho ho!" Matt laughed excitedly. "Now _that's_ a big monster. I hope I'm ready for it."

Lankford wasn't sure what that meant. Obviously Matt had a Trap laid out: Never use a defensive monster without a Plan B. But what was the Trap? Lankford still held De-Fusion in his hand, and he could use that to triple the Blue-Eyes on the field if he timed it right. He couldn't be too ambitious or Matt would read right through his strategy.

"Blue-Eyes attacks first."

"Definitely not enough defense points for that," Matt said as he showed his Card Trooper. "I get to draw a card when this one goes to the Graveyard."

How odd that Matt wouldn't retaliate against the Ultimate Dragon. He must have read through Lankford's strategy already. Thinking to the next turn, Lankford realized he could set Matt up to lose in one more turn by attacking with Chthonian Emperor Dragon… unless Matt panicked and used his Trap immediately: Then Lankford would use De-Fusion and end the turn right away.

"Chthonian Emperor Dragon attacks directly."

"Ohh. Don't like that one," Matt said as he flipped over one of his set cards. It wasn't what Lankford expected. "Sakuretsu Armor. Destroys your monster before it can finish attacking."

Lankford expected Mirror Force, considered the ultimate Trap Card for its sheer destructive power. But Matt's other card might still be Mirror Force, especially if he predicted the Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon. Lankford decided not to risk losing all three Blue-Eyes at once. "Your turn," he conceded.

"Thank you. I don't have much here, so I'll set one more monster and let you go again."

Lankford was now certain Matt's facedown card was Mirror Force. But that might not matter at this point. "Pot of Avarice." He shuffled five of the dragons from his Graveyard into the deck and then drew two cards off the top. "De-Fusion," he said. He showed Matt the card briefly and then took three Blue-Eyes White Dragons (8/3000/2500) from the Graveyard without explaining that he could summon them to the field by sending the Ultimate Dragon back to the Extra Deck. "You expected this, didn't you?"

"Pretty much," Matt admitted. "Can't teach an old dog new tricks. Actually, you can teach an old dog all kinds of tricks, like 'roll over' and 'stop humping that man's leg.' That second one takes a lot longer to sink in for some reason…"

"How's this for new? I'm not attacking with these three. I'm going to overlay two of them to Xyz Summon the Hieratic Sun Dragon Overlord of Heliopolis (8/3000/2400)."

"That's a real mouthful, isn't it?" Matt leaned forward to get a good look at the black card Lankford pulled from his Extra Deck. "I guess I shouldn't be too surprised you have such a new card since you're in the Kaiba family, but I didn't even know they made Xyz monsters with ranks that high. That's a real sight, right there! Boy, I'd love to see that hologram!"

"Then at least you'll learn something with your loss today. I'll send one Xyz material to the Graveyard and offer two cards from my hand as Tributes to destroy both your facedown cards." Matt scooped up Ryko, Lightsworn Hunter and Mirror Force. Lankford felt vindicated in his caution. "You are now open for a direct attack from both my dragons."

Matt 7300 – 6000 = 1300: Lankford 2000.

Matt shook his head and said aloud how glad he was not to get attacked directly by those two monsters with the hologram system up and running. He claimed he was asthmatic and the attack would probably be too much for him. But it was a smokescreen while he focused on his deck. It was a little more difficult for him to focus so completely this time considering how close to losing he suddenly found himself. He accidentally let some of the power leak into the air around him. It was minimal, but if Lankford wasn't distracted by his babbling, then he might catch on to Matt's trick.

But he may have lucked out this time. Lankford didn't seem any different when Matt drew exactly the card he wanted. "So I'll start by admitting that was pretty spectacular. It's no wonder you're the one who established Team OTK, and seeing you play one just now proved to me that Lucy's Xyz monsters are truly badass. But here's where I collect on your end of the bargain.

"There are ten monsters in my Graveyard, so I summon Sephylon, the Ultimate Timelord (10/4000/4000). And what's a Timelord without a companion? Sephylon's effect summons Darklord Superbia (8/+4000/2400). Superbia loses its effect, but its points go up to 4000 so it's pretty much worth the exchange right now." He held each monster in front of Lankford's two 3000-point monsters. "See where I'm going with this?"

Matt 1300: Lankford 2000 – 2000 = 0.

Dr. Lankford sat back in his chair and sighed with annoyance. He unlocked the middle drawer on his desk and withdrew a key, tossing it at Matt. "There. A room key. Show it to Mitsuro on your way out and she'll give your ID card Blue permissions." In other words, Matt was now a resident of the Blue Mansion.

When he showed the key to Mitsuro Itachu, the administrative assistant who was also a senior student and fellow resident of the Blue Mansion, she asked him, "How'd you get this? Did you duel him for it?"

"I gave a convincing argument based on my merits and my history with the campus."

She shrugged, not questioning his story. "Well, you have dueled for our safety three times now."

"Twice, actually," Matt corrected her. "Dr. Apple wasn't trying to hurt anyone."

"Does that mean you've finally figured out what he _was_ trying to do?"

"Not exactly."

As Bryan dropped a box of books in front of the empty bookcase, he said, "Two boxes of books, one suitcase bag of clothes, and a shoe box full of extra cards. You are planning to live here for the full semester, right?"

"The laundry at this dorm is free," Matt replied. "I've got enough clothes for a week at a time, and then it's back to the laundry. What more do I need?"

"How about a ping pong table? Or a refrigerator. Or a poker table."

"What happened to the one you used to keep in your room?"

"I sold it for that motorcycle."

"And what happened to the motorcycle?"

Bryan sighed longingly. "I sold that, too." He obviously missed the motorcycle. "I ultimately decided that you were right: Dueling on a motorcycle is like asking for an accident. I never did quite get the mechanics figured out, either. I didn't pay enough attention in my engineering classes."

"You've never taken any engineering classes."

"Well, maybe _that_ was the problem. Either way, I sold it. My money's better spent on other things."

"Like jewelry, I'll wager," Matt concluded. Specifically, that explained how Bryan afforded the engagement ring he gave Lucy—the one with the sixteen diamonds circling a trillion cut garnet. It was a beautiful piece, custom designed to look like a Spell Counter—the theme of Lucy's dueling deck.

Darius walked into the room and dropped Matt's suitcase bag of clothes on the floor. "Thanks for the help, Darius," Matt told him. Darius was the third suitemate in this of the Blue Mansion's three-room suites. He was a good guy—very patient in dealing with Matt's wild train of thought and occasional prank-addled antics. He had a lot of experience, too. He was Matt's first roommate who wasn't Bryan.

"You are welcome."

Matt looked at Darius for a moment and admitted, "I'd forgotten how much I envy that beard. That is a thing of beauty." It was true: Darius grew full, lush facial hair in a matter of hours. He was the kind of guy who could shave in the morning and be ready to shave again at lunch, if he chose to do so. Instead, he kept the full beard look and continually trimmed it every morning.

"Thank you. It will be fun having you around again. How did you convince Dr. Lankford to let you move back here?"

"I thumb wrestled him and won the best two out of three."

"I bet that drove him up a wall," Bryan replied. He knew Matt was making up that story, but he played along because he also knew Matt was going to keep the details secret. There's no way Dr. Lankford would ever agree to thumb wrestling.

Darius looked confused. He was a man of few words, usually because English was not his first language and it was such a difficult one to learn. Idioms were particularly tricky and remarkably inconsistent. "Driving him up a wall is another figure of speech, correct? I assume you did not actually destroy the administration building just to obtain mansion permissions."

"I did not," Matt agreed. "That was Plan B." He looked toward Darius in the doorway, but his gaze followed past his old roommate to a fire-red envelope sticking out of Bryan's door. "What is that?"

Darius turned to see Matt's reference. "The envelope?" he confirmed. "It was there when I returned from class a little while ago." He pulled it from the door and handed to Matt, who handed it in to Bryan. "I do not know who brought it in."

"There's no sender," Bryan noted. He shook the envelope to get a feel for its mass: It felt like nothing more than a card. He ripped off the end of the envelope and let the contents slide out. It was a small board, like a postcard, with a picture of Bryan standing behind a hologram of Uria, Lord of Searing Flames. "That's not creepy," he lied. He flipped over the card and read an invitation on the back—a request for Bryan and Uria to attend a gathering in the far-north town of Yasna.

"You and your god card," Matt said. The room was silent for just a moment. Matt broke it by asking, "You know what this means?"

"Yep," Bryan answered. "We found the missing god cards."

* * *

_Welcome to the fifth installment of my Yu-Gi-Oh! story. It is not necessary to read the previous four to understand this one. I hope for this one to be the centerpiece of the series and a place to answer the biggest questions that haven't even been asked yet as we build to a finale. Thanks go to **tiramisu19** for contributing Darius, **Jaden2010** for Carter, **DarkVestroia2** for Sean, and **Titanic X** for Mitsuro. Titanic X also helped me prepare today's duel script._

_Bryan is invited to Yasna alone: god card holders only. But Matt is determined to go with him and retrieve some of the gods himself. He just needs to get invited somehow..._

_**Trivia:** The comment about a Timelord and his companion is a reference to _Doctor Who_._


	2. Cut from a Different Card

Chapter 2: Cut from a Different Card

An hour of physical examinations followed their duel with the ultimate diagnosis that Bryan and Matt were stable and already in recovery. Confronting the powers of nine god cards in a single evening had worn both guys to their limits. After an overnight stay at the health center, the doctor would reassess their conditions and figure out where to go from there. Lying there in the dark, neither student was ready to sleep just yet.

"You still up?" Bryan asked.

"Yeah." Matt sighed deeply and said, "You'd think exhaustion would have taken me by now, but every time I close my eyes, I see the leftovers of a human body that touched the Shadow Realm." It was too dark for him to see clearly. He turned his head so he could see the shadow where Bryan slept in the bed. "Do you have them?"

Bryan nodded, and he gently slid back the blanket to show Matt the three shimmering cards he held in his hand: the three Sacred Beasts. Quietly, he replied, "Do you have yours?"

"I do." Just as gently so as not to draw attention to them, he slid back his blanket and showed Bryan the three Egyptian Gods. "And hers." With his other hand, he revealed the three Wicked Gods. "I told everyone I lost track of them during all those duels. It wasn't easy keeping them hidden during that exam, either. If anyone asks, I've always walked with a limp."

"Got it," Bryan chuckled. Whispering again, he asked, "What do we do?"

"We can't leave them out for others to get hurt. We've got to hide them. Preferably not in some Egyptian tomb. That never seems to last. Obviously, keeping them close makes it easier to check on them, but it's also a big risk keeping them all near one another."

"Let's keep them together," Bryan immediately decided. "It's a risk, but it also reduces the chance that someone will just stumble upon them." He looked around, wondering if they were really alone or if a nurse or another patient were listening in. "You know the place where we dueled? Let's put them there. It's out of the way and difficult to see." He referred to a small grove in the woods where the spotted white deadnettle grew amidst a heavy overhead canopy that prevented other flowers from blooming. If the guys buried the cards there, they'd be hidden by the luminescent flowers in a wooded area that could be difficult to locate without directions. "We can't exactly slip out of here to do it tonight, though."

"No. They'll still be searching for them anyway. We need to wait a week or so and then do it at a time no one will miss us. It might involve causing a distraction of some kind." Matt suddenly chuckled to himself. "Actually, I have an idea for how to dismiss ourselves without having anyone follow, but it might involve a bit of acting on our parts, and a little competition."

"Yeah. It's a big stretch to see the two of us being competitive. I'll have to draw on all that acting talent I learned from Stanislavski, but I guess I'll be able to manage. We just keep them hidden in the meantime?"

"You're a creative guy. Do what you can for now. We just need to wait for the search to die down first, and then we can hide them without worrying about being caught. Then they can stay there forever and never cause us trouble again."

* * *

"Where are you going?" Jessica asked him. The blonde followed Bryan's fast, dedicated pace through the woods early in the day, yet the woods held a deep foreboding against the overcast sky. The very essence of the trees felt tainted by darkness, and she still didn't know why he carried a trowel with him.

"No one asked you to follow me," he replied grimly.

"The Ghost commanded me to observe your adjustment and report back to him if you die. He says some are not able to absorb the power of the Seal."

"Well, the Seal draws me here," Bryan clarified for her. He moved with conviction, and it was tough for Jessica to keep up moving through the brush. She didn't have the physical strength and stamina he did, and even though she'd been a Horseman for weeks already, her energy reserves still hadn't reached his initial level. With the power of darkness channeled directly inside his body, he achieved the strength of a dueling god.

And a god deserved a suitable servant.

A human eye would see the clearing as pretty, perhaps—a blanket of shimmering flowers on the ground beneath the majesty of greens and oranges among the autumn trees. But the eye truly trained on the energies of nature witnessed a sight quite the opposite: a hellish landscape dotted with trees withering under a persistent mist of shadows, all emanating from the ground beneath the grandest tree.

Even Jessica was startled to see such darkness dwelling within the island. "What is all this?"

"This is my claim," Bryan answered her. He found the spot and thrust the trowel into the earth, digging scoop after scoop of sod until he found the tin case he and Matt buried. From the case poured tremendous amounts of shadow energy. Touching it was like grabbing hold of fire.

"How long has that been there?"

"Too long," Bryan sneered in reply. He popped the lid off the top and offered a gentle smile for the red dragon whose energy seemed to light the air on fire. "Hello, Uria, Lord of Searing Flames. Two years is too long. It's time you and I were finally reunited." He plucked the flaming card from the tin and slipped it into his deck box as the flames extinguished beneath the force of Bryan's power. With no purpose for the rest of the tin, he closed the lid again and dropped it back into the ground.

Jessica seemed disappointed. "You don't want the rest of them?"

"They belong in the ground," Bryan answered. "Only Uria called me out here. Uria belongs to me."

It may have been the only card reaching out to Bryan, but Jessica couldn't deny the intensity of shadows continuing to spill from the box. She eyed the tin warily and then took a single step toward it—just enough to use her foot to shove the dirt back on top of the tin and bury it once more. Her power as a Horseman made her strong, but the power within that box sent a true paralytic shiver down her spine.

* * *

For almost two whole minutes, Dr. Houtz looked dumbfounded by the shared story Bryan and Matt told her. She sat at her desk with her eyes darting between the two guys and a third point above and behind them, which they both assumed was her "happy place" she visited mentally anytime she was presented with a situation she had difficulty assimilating.

Finally she said, "So let me get this straight: You were possessed by shadow power, and that strengthened your bond with Uria." As far as Bryan knew, that was correct. He had been possessed by the Shadow Realm once before using Uria as a conduit, and so the link between them was already tenable. "And despite also being possessed by shadow power, Jessica Parks, who is one of the top duelists at the Academy, witnessed the location of the other god cards, but she was too scared of the power coming from them to consider taking them."

"Yes," Bryan replied. "That is an excellent summary." He held Uria in his hand to show her his evidence. While his fingers touched the card, the image on its face shimmered as if reflecting strobe lights, but neither did Bryan's hand move nor the sun alter its intensity.

But she didn't look convinced, and being an expressive woman, her confusion was visible in the form of pressing her lips together, squeezing her eyebrows close, and wiggling her nose ever so slightly from side to side while thoughts raced through her head. "I'm still a little lost. Can you go back and start at the beginning instead of starting in the middle?"

Bryan and Matt looked at one another with the same half-shrug. Matt was the one to speak up with, "Well, pretty much from Day 1 in the nursery, I knew I was different from the other kids."

Stopping him right there, Dr. Houtz said, "Too far. Tell me what happened before you decided to hide the god cards." She had heard the known details of the incidence from Dr. Lankford and Dr. West, but neither of them knew the god cards were buried on the island, instead thinking them lost forever to the mystical Shadow Realm. Obviously, the boys' perspective may shed some much-needed light.

* * *

"In order to enhance spiritual energy, you need spiritual energy," spoke Maya Kawamura, the female faculty advisor to the Yellow Dorm. She was also Duel Academy's expert on the god cards. "The greatest concentration of spiritual energy imaginable exists in a realm separate from our own—a higher plane of existence known in legend as the Shadow Realm."

"The Shadow Realm…" repeated a girl, one of Maya's mentees. "Didn't the legends say that the god cards came directly from the Shadow Realm?"

"Yeah. I thought that was just a myth," added a boy mentee.

"The realm exists," Maya assured them. "The mythology lies in the distortions of the story over time. For one, the gods didn't come from the Shadow Realm: They _are_ the Shadow Realm. This higher plane is a collective consciousness. When Pegasus made a spiritual connection to that plane, he transferred a small portion of the consciousness into his hand-painted cards. The god cards, therefore, possess the greatest concentrations of spiritual energy imaginable and provide a direct link to the Shadow Realm. Of course, the link is tenuous as long as the seals on their power remain."

"How can we break their seals?" the boy asked.

"We must complete a ritual that will weaken the seal on the gods."

"What kind of ritual?"

"A duel."

Maya grinned as she thought about the years of planning and preparation for this semester. All of it led to this point in time. With the power she collected, she needed only to defeat the current guardians of the god cards and take possession of them all. Nine god cards in one place… That's all she needed in order to ascend to the collective consciousness of the Shadow Realm. And thanks to her years of firming her willpower, she had every plan of merging with the consciousness, yet remaining a distinct entity. That's how she planned to take all that power for herself.

In the midst of her final duel, Maya drew forth the power to summon two of the god cards she kept hidden from the world—the result of a stealthy "excavation" at the highest levels of Industrial Illusions.

A powerful demon emerged from the ground, its green body rippling with muscle protected by nothing except the bones of a skeleton fiend. Shadows poured from the demon's body and soaked the ground in a shallow pool that hid the ground from view. Maya was unaffected by the demon's presence, instead enjoying the effect it had on all other witnesses. "The Wicked Dreadroot spreads fear across the field; this has the dual effect of cutting in half the points of all monsters except himself and making you wet your pants."

Bryan scoffed and said, "Only a little. It's not like I need to change my shorts." The duel itself was adrenaline-pumping, but it was hardly terrifying. For Bryan to feel this way, he knew he faced creatures with real power. The Wicked Gods amplified his emotions and turned general anxiety into genuine fear. "What about your Wicked Avatar?" He referred to a creature almost identical to Dreadroot—almost because it's entire body was liquid Shadow, jet-black with the only details offered by the light of the moon. "Its points are still higher than Dreadroot's right now. Don't they get cut in half, too?"

"No. The Wicked Avatar does not have any points of its own, and therefore nothing to cut in half. The 4100 points it has now come directly from Dreadroot _after_ the fear effect has already spread. As I told you before, The Wicked Avatar (4100) will _always_ be the strongest monster on the field, and it cannot be defeated."

Despite the exhaustion and the fear, Bryan managed to find that nugget of stupidity that enabled him to ignore his emotions and make a play based solely on skill. "It can be defeated. My Neo-Spacian Dark Panther has a very special ability that makes him the perfect match to face The Wicked Avatar." The eyes of his caped panther began to shine with a blue hue, and then a matching blue hue shone over Avatar's eyes. Suddenly Dark Panther began to grow and expand. "Once per turn, Dark Panther gets to copy the name and effect of a monster on your field." Bryan's man-sized feline reshaped itself until it became a furry, blackened copy of The Wicked Dreadroot and unaffected by the fear effect.

"Impossible," Maya uttered. The Wicked Avatar was supposed to be a perfect representation of the Shadow Realm—even stronger than all the other gods. How could a mere freshman defeat it with a deck of basic cards?

Bryan also looked pretty surprised—surprised enough not to notice his fear anymore. "Whoa! Go get 'im, Dark Panther (+4100)!" Bryan's monster, still a panther at heart, crouched low and stalked across the field slowly, and then it pounced harshly on top of The Wicked Avatar (4100). Avatar was pinned to the ground, but it thrust its enormous claws at the same time as Dark Panther. Both monsters pierced the other directly in the heart, and soon they faded into a shadowy mist.

The emotional roller coaster affected by the Wicked Gods did wear on Bryan, as did the weight of the Shadow Realm's power. Drawn by the presence of nine god cards, the Shadows began to grip the entire physical realm more tightly, starting with the duel between the gods. Maya was older, more experienced, and spiritually better trained than Bryan. She was largely unaffected whereas he eventually passed out without completing the duel. Maya felt that completed a portion of the ritual, but Matt saw an opportunity to protect his best friend.

Matt set Bryan on the ground gently, ensuring as much comfort as he could, and then he reached for Bryan's Duel Disk. "I have a better idea. How about I put my energy on the line right now?"

"What do you propose?"

He disconnected Bryan's Duel Disk and attached it to his own arm without resetting it. "This will be a _real_ tag team duel. Bryan can't finish, so I will do it in his place."

"Truly?" Maya was shocked by this suggestion. She motioned toward The Wicked Dreadroot, that massive demon that spread fear across the field like fog. "You realize I still have a god monster already on the field and twice your Life Points?"

Matt nodded. "I understand the setup is hardly advantageous, but if this is the result of Bryan's duel, I'm sure I can work with it." After all, this particular deck based on Elemental Hero Neos was the very first deck Matt ever used. He took a moment to look through the Graveyard as he adjusted the Duel Disk and prepared to duel against the professor who opted for early retirement in order to enter the Shadow Realm directly. "What have you got to lose?"

"Very well. You may play Bryan's hand for him, then."

But even though Matt fought hard and managed to destroy The Wicked Dreadroot using the power of Elemental Hero Glow Neos, Maya summoned a third god card—a dark dragon armored by metal forged from solid Shadows. The Wicked Eraser wasn't a card Maya intended for battle, however; she used Eraser's focus to pull every ounce of Shadow energy in the vicinity to a single point, and when that point ruptured, it would destroy her opponents, complete the ritual, and tear a dimensional rift through which she could ascend to that higher planer.

"I will become a true god!" she uttered with pure ecstasy in her voice.

"A god, huh?" Matt muttered. He opted not to activate his trap when Maya's monster reached the critical point. "If you want to see god so badly, then go right ahead!" The Wicked Eraser exploded, sending shockwaves of shadow energy for miles out into the ocean. To those as far away as the college town Kazuki, the shockwaves only gave the citizens goose bumps, a brief sneezing fit, and a moment of uneasiness. To those near the center of the blast, the air may as well have been on fire. The sensation of sheer pain passed almost instantaneously as the Shadows rendered Matt's body numb and nearly consumed him completely if not for the glow around his neck that protected him and Bryan.

Maya stared into the spot where Eraser exploded as a small tear appeared in the dimensional continuum, just as she'd predicted. Shadows spilled from the tear and submerged her entire body, and she felt herself rise through the mist. Slowly until she entered the rift and then fast as the speed of light, she traveled through the void toward the light given off by the collective consciousness she sought, ribbons of green, white, and black lights streaming past her the whole way. She could already feel the power flowing into her. The warm consciousness that occupied the Shadow Realm was becoming a part of her.

"Yes," she uttered as she reached out, eager to end the trip even sooner.

But wait! Her hand wasn't complete anymore. Her skin was fading, burning within the fiery light, and the bones began to dissipate. Her entire body faded in the light; she couldn't make it all the way to the end of the tunnel.

"Why?"

As suddenly as the rift opened in that explosion, it closed again. The land behind the academic buildings was quiet again save for the sounds of insects returning to their normal routines and two terrified duelists passed out in the grass.

As the only conscious witness, Maya's male counterpart in the Yellow Dorm said, "That was unexpected." It seemed nothing could damper his forever-neutral disposition. "Perhaps she was right about the Shadow Realm being as a god. Yet she was only human, and humans are not capable of touching the hand of god."

* * *

"There we go," Dr. Houtz interrupted. "From there, we end up with you two in the health center hiding god cards. Most of that, Kevin did know about."

Bryan asked, "Who's Kevin?"

She frowned. "He's your faculty advisor."

He looked confused for just a moment when Matt mouthed the words "Dr. Lankford" to him. "Oh, right, yeah. I just keep forgetting that a guy who acts like that in the classroom can have a first name that doesn't start with _Damien_."

"Actually, that's why we came to you," Matt explained. "We tried going to Dr. West, but Mitsuro turned us away saying his schedule was full. On top of that, he's getting close to retirement and might not wish to concern himself with matters of this magnitude. People have died in the past from their involvement with the Shadow Realm."

"Thanks for involving me, then," Dr. Houtz replied dryly.

"We don't actually need you involved," Bryan reminded her. He pointed to the paperwork he already printed out for her to sign. "We just need approval from senior faculty so we can get Academy support to participate in this tournament."

She already read the invitation and the approval forms once, but she perused the pages again as she requested, "Tell me again what you're trying to do with this. Start with the part about how you were trying to get invited."

The guys looked at one another for a moment and silently agreed Matt told the story better. "It goes without saying that someone out there will always want to possess all the god cards—it's a _power_ thing. Since they disappeared from that hole in the ground, word of their reappearance has spread one card at a time, starting with that man who played Obelisk the Tormentor during a national tournament without holding back."

"Ren Bacon," Dr. Houtz remembered from their earlier summary. His name was also mentioned on the invitation Bryan received as the event's organizer. She pulled up the Wikipedia article on his name at her computer. "He's an actor with a reputation as a deadly duelist, especially after Obelisk sent the other guy into cardiac arrest. I'll admit, that sounds like a fantasy."

"Yet, it's true," Bryan insisted, suggesting she look up _that_ guy's Wikipedia page. "The will of the duelist plays a big role, though. During the winter break, I made sure to enroll in a televised tournament so I could play Uria somewhere everyone could see. But unlike Ren Bacon, I had no intention of hurting my opponent, so Uria's shadow power didn't do anything noticeable."

"And in accordance with the plan, Bryan's play got noticed, and someone invited him to bring Uria to the city of Yasna." Yasna was less of a city and more of an iceberg, located in the far north and with a population of "you're out of your mind." The city was located three hundred miles north of the Arctic Circle, and it was classified as having a polar climate. At that time of year, Bryan was asking to participate in a tournament where the daytime temperatures never rose above freezing. Those people who did take up residence there were self-sufficient with food, typically by fishing and hunting, and made what little money circulated their economy through mining natural resources.

Dr. Houtz nodded at the invitation. "So you think Ren Bacon is gathering people who hold the god cards so he can keep them for himself. Unfortunately, this invitation already prohibits one of you two from going."

Bryan winced while Matt's expression simply fell. "God-holders only. We're working on that part." Obviously it would be easier for Bryan if Matt were there with him, but even if the Academy approved a cohort for Bryan, having no god card meant Matt couldn't participate. He'd be nothing more than Bryan's frozen cheerleader.

"You are also aware that Dr. Lankford can veto any travel requests I sign? He's your actual advisor, after all."

"It is currently our belief that he will not actively object as long as you are the one to approve the trip," Bryan stated. Although he and Matt believed Dr. Lankford didn't like them, and the grumpy professor was likely to be too lazy to help them, they both figured he would also be too lazy to stop them if they sought other help—sort of a "skip dad, ask mom" kind of situation.

Actually, Dr. Houtz enjoyed the thought. She grinned a bit wickedly as she imagined a potential confrontation with Dr. Lankford. "Fine." She signed the forms and handed them back. "As far as I'm concerned, this is a competition we can't afford to skip. As long as the god cards are out there, someone will seek them. In fact, this is probably convenient for the school with all the god cards being gathered in one place. And we really have no better chance to earn them back, except maybe by sending me."

Both guys froze, afraid to show a reaction until she revealed her true feelings about that comment. Was it a joke? Was she serious? She already signed the approval forms…

"I don't have time to get involved," she confessed. "I'm a busy woman, you know? It's bad enough I work all the time and take care of my husband at home without gallivanting to the coldest reaches of the globe. You know Yasna is technically a desert because the rainfall there is less than five inches per year?"

"No rain is a good thing when the temperature is fifty below," Bryan remarked.

She shrugged. "Still. You've got my permission. Go give that to Mitsuro and have her pass it along to Corbin. You'll both be on your way as soon as the approval comes in. Now leave so I can get back to work."

"Awesome! Thanks!" Bryan reached across the desk for a handshake, but when Dr. Houtz offered her hand, he held it instead the same way as if he were to kiss it. "If anyone ever asks, you're the most beautiful professor on the island." Without kissing her hand, he offered thanks again and turned to walk out of her office.

Matt returned her puzzled, somewhat frightened look. "I don't know what that was all about. Personally, I've got a thing for Dr. Kerr."

Dr. Houtz narrowed her eyes and grinned back at him. With feigned frustrated, she said, "Bye, Matt. Remember to pack a sweater."

The administration building wasn't a big building, filled with the offices of twenty employees for whom work was little more than filling out forms and ordering supplies all day. In the hallway, Bryan commented to Matt, "You always have to one-up my jokes, don't you?" They walked through the remarkably narrow halls toward the stairs. Dr. West's office was up another floor, and Mitsuro's work space was right outside.

"Since when did you start sucking up as a joke? That almost got you suspended in high school."

"It was funny then, too. It's not my fault Miss Minnick had no sense of humor."

Those small halls led quickly to the office of Dr. Sebastian Arbus, the man who replaced Dr. Apple as the Yellow Dorm's faculty advisor a year earlier. But that's not how Bryan and Matt met him.

Bryan lightly hit Matt's arm. "Thinking about your mother?"

Dr. Arbus was a guest at the luxurious hotel and casino where the guys stayed during a winter dueling tournament during their freshman year. Actually, they snuck in a little gambling time at the casino and ended up playing a game of Blackjack against a cocky Russian who didn't get out of bed unless the stakes were high. Dr. Arbus offered financial backing for the game and came out ahead when Matt was victorious.

But more importantly, Dr. Arbus spent a lot of time with Matt's biological mother—the woman who owned and ran the hotel. At the time, she was a generous, mysterious, and exotic person who made no indication she knew who Matt was. Since then, Matt learned that she had been so generous because they were related. She was the one who gave Bryan and Matt the Duel Disks they currently used.

"Turning in those forms isn't really a two-man job, right?"

Bryan shrugged. "I don't know. This is heavier paper." But he let the joke die there. Nodding toward Dr. Arbus's door, he said, "Go ahead. I'll catch up with you later."

Matt was slightly reluctant to ask questions about his mother. He grew up in a huge foster family, rationing food and getting beaten on a regular basis while she was rich and could have easily taken care of him. Why did she abandon him? If she was so willing to be generous with him, why not tell him they were related?

He rapped on the door, but it was unnecessary: Dr. Arbus left his door wide open. He was British by birth and had that combination of charming and smug that only the British could afford so effortlessly. Never had Matt seen him look even bothered, and he had a class with some of the noisiest kids at the Academy. And his office was much less homey than Dr. Houtz's had been. Where she had pictures of her husband and her lab equipment, Dr. Arbus had books on obscure mythology and knick knacks from the many places he'd visited during his travels.

"Mr. Luther," he spoke with a slight level of cheer in his voice. "What brings you here?"

Matt smirked, but only because he suddenly felt witless. He had nothing clever to say—only the raw truth. "I was hopeful you might be able to tell me a little about my mother."

He smiled back at the surprisingly coy student. "Yes, I heard you and Bryan talking in the hall. Have you given your mother a ring?"

"I want to get to know her first," Matt replied, finally finding his humor.

"Have you _called_ her?" Dr. Arbus rephrased.

Matt shook his head slowly. He hated to admit his cowardice, but he had been incredibly reluctant to give her a call. He looked her up online and read newspaper articles about her hotel, but he was afraid he wouldn't like what she had to say if he asked her the questions he wanted her to answer.

"I haven't gotten up the nerve yet."

Understandingly, the professor simply smiled and said, "I assure you, Leona loves you deeply. There is no doubt in my mind that when she left you for adoption, she believed it was the best option at the time. Likely she is just as concerned with that decision as you are and is afraid to initiate that discussion with you."

That sounded like a reasonable perspective, but it wasn't comforting to the son who felt snubbed, especially when he thought there might be another reason. He believed that she still loved him, but… "Is it true I had a brother?"

"Who told you that?"

"Cary found birth records for me and my twin brother. She also found a death certificate for him. Did my mother abandon me because she couldn't handle my brother's death?"

"I was not made aware you ever had a brother." He hummed softly to himself. "You may be correct about your mother's feelings. If you were twins, seeing you may have been a constant reminder of your brother's death."

A viable explanation was hardly an excuse, but at least, if Matt was able to look past his personal feelings and assume the mindset of someone who lost a child, he could understand personal withdrawal as one possible result. After all, she put her living child up for adoption and separated from her husband. Who knows how long it took before she was able to move past her sorrow and become the beautiful woman she was when Matt finally met her. Even though he could only envision the opposite reaction—clinging tightly to his remaining child—Matt accepted that his mother's reason was valid.

He finally uttered, "Perhaps I can give her a call before we head to Yasna."

"I heard something on that," Dr. Arbus replied. "Scuttlebutt says Bryan received an invitation to a tournament for people with god cards. You will accompany him?"

"Yes, but I can't participate. It's our bet that the organizer is a man only interested in the god cards and uninterested in the pretense of letting other people play."

"You have a god, don't you?" The question struck Matt fiercely as Dr. Arbus pointed to his chest. "Two of them. I believe your parents gave them to you."

* * *

"_Congratulations. I expected this of you the moment you arrived at my hotel." The beautiful Leona reached her open hand to Matt and said, "I am honored to have met you. You truly are the future." She gave him the level of praise he never got back at Duel Academy._

_Somewhat surprised by her gracious and flattering reaction to a loss, Matt blushed and replied, "It was fun. I've never seen cards like the ones you played. That was a crazy duel, and the whole tournament was intense. Thank you so much for inviting us." He took her hand and held it for a moment. He felt the urge to hold onto it for just a moment longer. Maybe he really was attracted to her, or at least her warm smile, but he didn't let go until Bryan smacked him and extended his own hand out to her for a separate handshake._

"_Please take this," Leona added as she handed Matt the card off the top of her deck._

"_Spenta Mainyu?" Matt said. "I can't take this. This is the strongest monster in your deck."_

"_Please keep it," Leona requested, "not as a prize, but as a souvenir. You deserve it after that performance. It will remind you of how strong you were to defeat me. From this moment on, you are even stronger."_

"_What about me?" Bryan asked excitedly._

_Leona smiled and said, "You, too, hold great potential. I imagine your greatest potential comes from your combined teamwork. Together, very little in this world will be able to stand against you. Enjoy your trip home. I hope to hear more from you in the future."_

_The energy from Zurvan added to the transmutation circle that surrounded the duel field, and Matt felt a surge of heat through his body just before the energy ended its cycle. When the energy subsided and he had a moment to recover, he felt stronger than before. It was difficult to describe exactly what made him feel more powerful—the warmth inside him or the perfect resonance with the surrounding nature. He almost felt like he could fly._

* * *

"_Congratulations," said Dr. Oscar Apple. He was a tall and lanky man with eyes that held the wisdom of multiple worlds within them. "The ritual is complete. Ahura Mazda has awakened. The remainder of his development is up to you." He stepped up and offered a handshake._

_Matt took Oscar's hand and held it for a moment. He felt a surge of adrenaline that made him feel temporarily unified with the baffling man he only _just_ called "opponent." When he let go, Oscar offered a card off the top of his Extra Deck, placed in a plastic case just like the Spenta Mainyu card Matt already wore around his neck._

"_Zurvan?" Matt said. "I can't take this from you."_

"_Please keep it," Oscar requested. "Not as a prize, but as a souvenir." Eighteen months since his last meeting with Leona, Matt felt a sudden pang of déjà vu. "From this moment on, you are even stronger than you were before. Your power has increased infinitely with the total awakening of the spirit inside you. This is as far as I can guide you. From this moment, you and Ahura Mazda must work to become united, and together you will determine what to do with your new power."_

* * *

Matt opened his jacket and pulled out his necklace—a nylon string holding two encased cards in front of his chest. Each was a card he never used in a duel, but rather he kept them close because they reminded him of how strong he could be and because he always felt warmer with them nearby. When he touched the cards, the images shimmered just as Uria did when Bryan showed it to Dr. Houtz.

He thought god cards were only those cards created by the Shadow Realm. Then again, he recently saw recorded duels and heard firsthand reports of three cards based on Norse myths. Everyone claimed they had the same aura as the other god cards, even though the power they gave off was something completely different from the Shadows. Maybe these cards were the same, especially given the way they stirred the inner spirit within Matt.

"Those cards in your hand may not have come from the same ritual, but their aura is every bit as powerful as the cards born of the Shadow Realm. Present those to the organizers in Yasna and they'll beg you to join the competition."


	3. Proof of Divinity

Chapter 3: Proof of Divinity

"This must be the place," Bryan said. "The Yasna Airport, Hair Care, and Tire Center." He was simply mocking the facility by adding two unrelated businesses to the name, but he wasn't being unfair: With a single, short runway only capable of landing prop planes and closet-sized commercial jets, and a control tower built on top of an old windmill, the Yasna Airport was not well equipped or frequently used.

"I can't hear a thing you say bundled up like that." Matt, who wore a heavy coat, a headband, and thick gloves to combat the cold, had mocked Bryan through the whole flight for wearing a heavy coat, two scarves, a faceless ski mask, two pairs of gloves, thermal underwear, and electric socks. Bryan wore so many clothes the sound of his voice was absorbed almost the instant he began speaking.

The weather wasn't helpful, either. Wind with as much bite as a crocodile kicked up every few seconds and stabbed any exposed skin. The howl was intense, but not loud. Volume wasn't the strongest factor in the deafening wind, but rather the pain taking control of the entire nervous system and deadening the ears.

"We'd better take shelter quickly," Matt said as he and Bryan hurried into the airport lobby. The building was hardly warm enough to dwell long, but any time out of the wind was immense and immediate relief for both guys. They basked in the clear air for a few minutes while they checked their travel provisions again. "What's the name of the place we're staying?"

"Brantley Motel," Bryan read on the travel itinerary. "Four stars, from the sound of it."

"Maybe it won't be so bad," Matt said to counter Bryan's sarcasm. He gazed out across the snow-covered field at the small town. From his vantage point, he could only count twenty or so buildings, not counting the large castle behind the town itself. "Maybe we'll be staying in the castle."

"That doesn't sound like fun," Bryan replied. "Look at all the holes in the ceiling and all the collapsed walls along the exterior. You can't call that a castle so much as a pile of rubble in castle shape. It doesn't even have a second story to it."

"Don't be like that. I'll bet there're lots of stories to that castle. Probably used to be the home of a historical king or the site of a grand, celestial war." Matt smiled proudly at his ability to turn a phrase. "Let's go take a quick look through town and find this Brantley place."

"I am not sightseeing in weather like that," Bryan protested. He produced a map of the town he printed online. "We will use the map or ask directions." He looked to the janitor who was sweeping up just a few meters away. "Excuse me, sir. Can you tell us where we'll find the Brantley Motel?"

The janitor pointed to the door on the far side of the lobby. "Follow street around bend. Is at dead end." He spoke with a heavy Russian accent, thick and bold like someone accustomed to speaking louder than the cold.

"Is there only one building at the end of the street?"

The janitor seemed to ignore the question as he swept around the floor where Bryan was standing. "Population is thirty-six people. Thirty-two buildings constructed. You can't get that lost." He picked up speed to get away from the annoying American.

"It would have been easier to skip the attitude and just say 'yes, it's the only building on the street.'"

Matt put his hand on Bryan's shoulder and suggested, "Years living in this weather have probably not improved his disposition. But on the bright side, we're already in one building. Only thirty-one left to check. As long as we move quickly, I keep the chances of contracting hypothermia as low as forty percent."

Bryan grabbed his bag and yanked it off the floor almost violently. "You're a big help, you know that?" He pulled both scarves tight around his neck and face and headed for the door indicated by the janitor. Matt didn't take it personally; Bryan just really hated cold weather. He picked up his bag and towed close behind.

Walking through the tundra was about as easy as expected. Each step carried about half as far as usual. The snow forced the journey of a thousand feet to take forever. Never before had Bryan thought all that highly of tucking his pants into his socks—actually nylon extensions of his boots—but as he powered through snow and slush piled two feet high, not a single drop of moisture entered his waterproof boots through the ankle. He couldn't remember ever being so dry in the snow in his entire life.

The janitor's direction was accurate, but just as confusing in the end as Bryan predicted. The road ended in a cul-de-sac of three buildings, all of which were mostly identical and none of which resembled a motel. Bryan was too annoyed and unsurprised to say anything until Matt pointed out the mailbox in front of the center building. It had the name "Brantley" written across the side.

"Are you kidding me? The Brantley Motel is some guy's house?"

Bryan wasn't thrilled with the news.

The motel was a simple, two-story house owned by an old man and his wife. Brantley himself had a light complexion and was fairly heavyset—perhaps a layer of blubber grown for insulation. His was constantly a neutral expression and he showed zero interest in much of what Bryan and Matt had to say.

"Arrangements made by school," he reminded them. "Room upstairs on right, toilet on left. Irina makes lunch in twenty minutes."

"That sounds pretty simple," Bryan said. He rubbed his hands together and was pleased to find enough heat in the house that he could take off his gloves indoors. "So our rooms are upstairs. We'll have to head to the castle after lunch. Do we get keys for when we come back?"

"One room," Brantley said as he handed Bryan a single key. Something in his tone was insistent. Neither guy saw anything other than futility in arguing for another room. The house was small, anyway: One bedroom upstairs and one downstairs.

Bryan hummed. "Hmm. It seems like we'll rooming together once again. I guess we can always trade sleeping places between the bed and the chair."

"Chair no good."

"'Chair no good'?" Bryan repeated, unintentionally with the exact same inflection. "Why not?"

"Hypothermia. Heat lower at night. Wood frame too cold."

The way Brantley spoke without even looking at them was almost unnerving. To alleviate the awkward feeling, Matt projected cheer as he said, "That's no big problem. It'll be like camping together and sharing a sleeping bag in the winter. If it helps, pretend I'm Lucy." Quickly his tone and facial expression changed. "No, don't pretend I'm Lucy. That's a bad idea. I am _definitely_ not Lucy. You understand? Pants on tonight."

"Dude, I'm so cold, I don't think I'll even take them off to pee."

Expression shifting back to fright, Matt turned to Brantley and asked, "How serious is the hypothermia induced by the chair?" Brantley wasn't amused in the least. "Yes, well. Perhaps we'd better just go unpack then. Lunch in twenty minutes? If it's as warm as the reception, the chair may not be the only source of hypothermia here."

* * *

"Why in the world would they hold this tournament thing inside a collapsed castle?" Though his moaning reeked of logic, the fact was Bryan was still complaining the entire time. Even when their football team lost a playoff game because of a bogus penalty he never complained so much. He _really_ couldn't handle the cold. The logic came from the idea that initiating a game of cards in a location over-exposed to precipitation was dumb. Thumbs stricken with frostbite would take an extra three minutes just to flip over a Trap card, and all the while, further frostbite would set in.

Matt was more taken with the architecture. It seemed Germanic in origin, possibly designed to be a fortress more than a castle. The foundation covered fifteen hundred square meters, more than half of which were covered with rubble and piles of snow. At its peak condition, the castle spire keep may have reached a hundred meters toward the sky. As it stood on this day, Matt estimated at least six floors had collapsed under the harsh weather.

"Look on the bright side," Matt told Bryan. "At least we have plenty of snow tracks to follow to our destination."

"It's not exactly the Kumite, is it?" Bryan commented dryly.

"I assume you are referring to the fact that the location of this secret gathering is not so well hidden. Most people don't know about the gathering being in Yasna, I'd suppose, plus only insanity could drive a person to endure the weather and terrain here. Then again, anyone who would seek all the god cards in a strange place completely unaware of what awaits him qualifies as insane."

"You are, of course, aware that applies to both of us."

"Who'd you think I was talking about?"

Watching the two guys approach, Jean-Paul Poirrot sat by the door to the castle keep, holding the interest of the Numbers guarding the keep with his constant grumbling about the banality of his designated task. Descended from French royalty and successful through his ranks, Jean-Paul was the type of man who viewed himself well above simple guard duty. What was the required IQ to ensure the only people who entered the castle were on the list? Did such a menial task really require the talents of the Jack of Spades?

"Sir," spoke one of the guards. "Two kids are heading this way now."

"Two?" he repeated pompously. "Only one person has yet to arrive. Do not let them past the courtyard."

As the guard placed his hand along the handle of his handgun and felt the grip in his palm, he asked, "Are you certain?"

"Of course. Only guests of the Club may enter. Anyone who would violate those rules will be killed." He chuckled to himself. "Actually, anyone who _does_ follow the rules will still be killed." His expression hardened once more as he remembered that despite his rank as a Jack, he wasn't invited to participate, either. His entire role for this gathering was gatekeeper. After taking register of the final participant today, his role would end, for he lacked the god card necessary to invoke his participation.

Eight of Spades, the guard with the handgun, stepped outside the door to the keep and shouted at the approaching kids, "Stop! If you take a single step further, you will be shot." Jean-Paul waited to hear the gunshot. No one ever took the threat seriously, but they would learn.

For some reason, the gunshot never came. Eight stepped back inside. "Those two say they each have god cards with them."

"Why didn't you shoot them?"

"When I told them to stop, they stopped. I think they knew I was serious."

This news upset Jean-Paul. Whereas he rose to the rank of Jack by being wealthy and influential despite his small stature and aversion to direct violence, he enjoyed violence when dispensed on his behalf by others. Eight of Spades was a large man with little in brain power compensated by incredible accuracy. His only purpose was to shoot people. Refusal was akin to insubordination.

Holding his tongue to ensure he spoke only in line to avoid any incidents with the King, Jean-Paul said, "That's impossible. We already have sixteen participants. Only one other currently holds a known god card. My understanding is that you will shoot him and offer his card to me that I may participate."

"Sorry, Jack. King said not to hurt anyone without a legitimate reason."

"Damn it! I am your superior! My word is law!" But despite the intensity of his cry, Eight of Spades was unfazed. Too dumb to understand, perhaps. Jean-Paul sat back in his chair. He stood no chance of physically changing his subordinate's mind, and his power had been sufficiently limited through this competition. Settling a bit, he allowed logic to resume. "According to the list, one of them should have Uria, Lord of Searing Flames. Ask them what other god they bring."

Eight stepped outside and resumed his conversation with the figuratively and literally frozen intruders. He returned a moment later to say, "They bring Spenta Mainyu."

The Frenchman scoffed. "No such card exists."

And yet, its name rang with another card he recently encountered—another he was certain was no god until the Ace of Spades convinced him of its power. Suppose Spenta Mainyu was on the same level as that other card. No one expected that card to make an appearance at this competition whereas people had seen the face of the boy with Uria. That may be the perfect opening to get the Jack of Spades his own invitation.

"Very well. They may enter." Eight stepped out again and invited the boys in, offering a hand to the bigger guy who seemed frozen in place. He must be the one with the unknown god. Could it be that powerful if the boy was so cold? Or maybe he didn't know how to utilize the card's power to his benefit. If Jean-Paul took the card into the competition and it turned out to be a dud, he could lose his rank—certainly his life. A safer route may be to test the card first.

Both of the boys brought youth and vigor with them, though neither had the raw good looks of a Frenchman. And clearly they suffered with adaptability, dressed as heavily as they were to deal with the cold weather. The smaller boy was unfamiliar. He was mistaken about the bigger one: He looked familiar as the boy who played Uria at the Duel Monsters Coliseum.

"You hold Uria?" Jean-Paul asked the bigger kid.

After making a series of noises intended to indicate cold, the big guy said, "Yep. Thanks for making us stand out there. I could really use Uria's fire about now."

Jean-Paul ignored him and turned his sights instead to the newcomer. "You must hold Spenta Mainyu."

"I do," the smaller boy said. "And I would just like to thank you for not having your rather big guard shoot me. It smells like a blizzard is brewing, and I doubt my body would ever be found out here."

"None of the others have been."

Both boys were stunned by his response. "Uh… Seriously?"

"For those who fully realize the impact of gathering so many god cards in one location, this location holds a treasure beyond all others. Try as they might, Eight never misses."

Threatening them had the exact effect Jean-Paul wanted: They were paralyzed with fear. At least until the smaller one said, "But he let us in, so you must have changed your mind. Do you already know about Spenta Mainyu?"

"I have not heard of it before today. You will show me now."

"Show you?"

"Yes. We will duel here. Consider this your entrance exam, with but a single rule: You _must_ use your god card against me." The boy seemed shocked. "God cards are filled with the power of the Shadow Realm. Use your god and capture my soul."

The bigger boy took a step back, but the smaller one merely cocked an eyebrow. It felt like he wasn't take Jean-Paul seriously, and he hated that. "If you lose the duel, Eight will shoot you and leave you out in the blizzard. If you are unable to summon your god card to defeat me, Eight will shoot you and leave you out in the blizzard. In other words, the only way for you to preserve your life now is to send me to the Shadow Realm!"

"I don't want to hurt you," the smaller boy said.

Jean-Paul pointed at Eight with an open palm. "Eight can shoot you now if you prefer."

"I didn't say I wouldn't duel. I just said I won't hurt you."

"Then you will die." Jean-Paul tossed the words out lightly, but his expression was stern. "You were not invited here. As I said, your only chance for survival is to send me to the Shadow Realm. That is the only way to stop me from giving Eight the order to kill you."

The smaller kid looked up at Eight and said, "You must be Eight. Clearly that's a nickname based on your good looks." That was hardly the rating the guard would obtain on an attractiveness scale and he knew it, but the comment made him grin anyway. "I still refuse to hurt you, Mr. French Clown Man, but I do not refuse your challenge. After all, I wasn't invited so I am willing to prove the reality of my god card if you so wish. I've never really tried bringing out its power in a tabletop duel, though. Do I just kind of picture it in my head as if we were playing with chess pieces?"

Jean-Paul already hated the kid, this time because he talked too much. But the kid made a good point. He couldn't gauge the power of a god if it never left the confines of the cards, yet he couldn't claim credit for possessing the card if it was brought into the open for all participants to see. Eight and the other two guards were too dumb to understand such matters so they weren't a threat to Jean-Paul's authority. Fortunately, his company had designed a device useful for precisely this conundrum.

"We'll use this." He pulled a suitcase from under his desk and opened it, removing its contents and placing them outstretched along the desk. The object resembled a duel field with a glass cover. It wasn't much bigger than a chess board, but it was encased in glass with holes on either end for players to place and remove cards during the duel.

"Fascinating," the smaller kid said as he began to spin the board and examine the glass from all sides. "It looks like a simple board game except for the sneeze guard. Of course, it's no simple glass, is it? No. The refraction of light suggests a fundamental alteration in visibility, and the tiny lenses embedded at six points along the border suggest perhaps a miniaturized hologram projector. Am I right? This is Kaiba Corp.'s hologram technology scaled down to a portable size. It's no Duel Disk, of course, but it is no less impressive. Did you build this?"

So many things upset Jean-Paul about that monologue, but his frustration betrayed him as it hid behind his amazement. This kid was smart enough to realize the technology of this portable arena simply by looking? It took years for the Poirrot Gaming Division to alter the Kaiba Corp. technology enough to remove it from copyright and still provide the right effect. But true theft or not, he didn't appreciate the accusation from some random kid.

"Let's duel!" he snapped. He took out his deck and handed it the kid to shuffle. The kid shuffled his own cards quickly and then offered it to Jean-Paul. "Shuffle them yourself," he replied. "It will make no difference."

"That's true." The kid was cocky, to be sure. He finished shuffling Jean-Paul's deck and handed it back. "My name's Matthew Luther, by the way. I'm not sure I'd say it's been a pleasure to meet you what with all the threats to shoot me, but I'm always up for a duel."

"I do not care," Jean-Paul remarked as he drew his cards, quickly snatching the first turn of the duel. "You insulted my technology by suggesting I stole it from the Kaiba Corporation. I will return the favor by trouncing you."

"Have at it." Cocky, indeed.

_This deck should settle his arrogance,_ Jean-Paul thought to himself. As soon as the duel began, he wanted to say as little as possible to avoid loosing any tells. "Pilgrim of the Ice Barrier (4/1500/1000)." As he slid the card into a monster groove under the glass, the lenses on the side of the box began to shine, sending lights bouncing around the glass until an image stood over the top of the card face: a man assuming a meditative position while a spiritual barrier deflected everything that neared him.

"Ice Barrier," Matt said without purpose. "That would certainly be helpful for us human people who still get affected by the cold weather. I'll counter your monster by summoning Jain, Lightsworn Paladin (4/1800/1200)." He slid his card onto the field and watched the appearance of a three-inch-tall warrior wearing a full suit of white armor and wielding a sword that, although short in length, was brilliant in luminance. "This should be a good time to attack." Jain (+2100) charged across the field, shield-first. When he met Jean-Paul's Pilgrim, he thrust the shield forward, disrupting the Pilgrim's meditation and leaving him open for Jain's sword to slash from shoulder to hip.

Although the attack drew blood, the yellow barrier remained, and the Pilgrim was overall unaffected.

"No destruction in battle?" Matt questioned. The setup of the duel briefcase did not promote researching card effects as easily as Kaiba Corp. technology did.

"Pilgrim of the Ice Barrier is not destroyed by monsters with 1900 points or more," Jean-Paul answered. He could answer simple questions without revealing his strategy. It was information the boy should already know anyway.

"Ah. So Jain's shield bash is what caused the attack to fail. If he didn't gain 300 points from being on the offensive, he may have destroyed your monster. Well, at least I still scratched your Life Points. Let's see where things go from there. And of course, Jain's effect takes two cards from the top of my deck and sends them to the Grave."

Matt 8000: Jean-Paul 8000 – 600 = 7400.

_He suspects nothing,_ Jean-Paul thought. _If this duel ends so simply, then his god is false._ "I'll set a second monster and switch Pilgrim (1000) to defense mode." His meditative pilgrim maintained his closed-eyed position, but now he held his arms outstretched in front of his body in order to expand the reach of his barrier.

"A defensive strategy," Matt noted. He leaned back and asked, "Any insights, Bryan?"

The bigger of the two boys was in the back of the foyer chatting with Eight of Spades. He simply replied, "This guy can interlace his fingers while reaching over his shoulder with one arm and around his back with the other. You can't even bend that far!"

"Wonderful help. Nice to see the Ritalin is kicking in. I suppose I'll just summon Dark Grepher (4/1700/1600)." He placed on the field a man with skin as dark as midnight and eyes red like a demon's. He wielded a long sword of silver that dispelled the ice barrier and cut through the Pilgrim with a single, clean slice. "That's one detriment out of the way. Now Jain can attack your other card." Once more, the armored paladin thrust his shield forward to stun his opponent and flip face-up Reese the Ice Mistress (2/800/800), a woman in a powder-blue leotard who turned a chain gun on her attacker, rapidly firing ice shards at Jain to keep him at bay and intercept his barrage of sword slashes.

"Reese is not destroyed by monsters four stars or higher."

"Another stall card," Matt noted. As Jean-Paul worried that Matt may have seen through his strategy, he was pleased to hear his young opponent say, "This one will be much harder to get by. I'll set one card. And of course Jain pulls another two cards from the top of my deck. Now I suppose it is your turn."

Still holding his tongue, Jean-Paul simply placed another monster on the field. "Cryomancer of the Ice Barrier (2/1300/0)." This fighter showed as much bare skin as the other ice-trained monsters, but he was equipped with Nordic headgear and wielded a dagger that appeared to generate its own ice. He took one swipe with his frozen blade and sent a chill across the field, building a thin layer of frost on Matt's monsters. "Also, Prior of the Ice Barrier (2/1000/400)." This bearded man looked as if he understood the cold—its dangers and its effects. He was cloaked more heavily than Jean-Paul's other monsters, and he appeared uninterested in staying. He held a staff with a mirror on its head, steadying it above the Graveyard until the mirror reflected the image of Pilgrim of the Ice Barrier. Prior sacrificed himself in order to pull the meditative Pilgrim (1000) out of the Graveyard and back to the field in defense mode.

Jean-Paul was beginning to bubble under the surface. Between Jain and Grepher, it was obvious the kid had a varied strategy in his deck—at least so far as a Twilight strategy was concerned. There was a simple cure for that—a single facedown Trap.

"No guidance on that turn," Matt said as he noted the end of Jean-Paul's turn. He narrowed his eyes at Jean-Paul. "And you've practically stopped talking since the duel began. Why would you do that? Perhaps you're afraid you might have a tell that will give me a peek into your strategy, but that also presumes you have a strategy that can easily be disrupted once it's revealed."

Gritting his teeth and drawing on ire stemming from frustration, Jean-Paul retorted, "I choose not to speak because the duel is worth more attention. My general disposition is to withhold conversation unless necessary to benefit me in some way."

"If that were true, I couldn't have baited you so easily just now." Now the boy was being impudent! But Jean-Paul had the wherewithal to maintain his composure and not let the boy know he was being so annoying. "Very well. I'll summon Card Trooper (3/400/400). He's the right level to exact some damage on your cards." Matt's machine had a tank-like base connected by a steel spine to a barrel chest. From there, two prehensile cables extended to hands like small cannons. Its head was a glass bubble protecting a variety of electronic sensors and two lit headlights as eyes.

Jean-Paul knew that card. Everyone did. This was the perfect chance to break his opponent's spirit.

"I'll send three cards from my deck to the Graveyard to increase Card Trooper's (+1900) attack by 500 per card. And while we're here, why not attack?"

"One very good reason," Jean-Paul replied, almost sputtering in his attempt to suppress a grin. "Gozen Match." When his Trap rose from the ground, a light mist began to cover his side of the field. "From now on, each of us can only control monsters of a single element. I choose water."

"Only a single element," Matt noted. "All three of my monsters are different attributes, meaning I'll lose two monsters no matter what I choose. You do make it difficult. I will hold to earth." On Matt's side of the field, the ground rumbled as pillars of rock jutted upward toward the sky. But amidst the rumbling, a fissure crossed the field and opened widely enough to swallow Jain and Grepher.

"Interesting choice to maintain Card Trooper," Jean-Paul suggested.

"Not really. He's the only monster I had with the ability to attack. After all, your Cryomancer prevents any attacks from level-four monsters when joined by another Ice Barrier like Pilgrim. In fact, although the change of armies triggers a Replay, I still plan to attack Cryomancer (1300)." Within the changed terrain, Card Trooper dropped into the fissure and made steady, silent progress to where Cryomancer waited within the mist. Card Trooper sprung suddenly and fired with both cannons, piercing Cryomancer straight through and drawing him down into the Grave.

Matt 8000: Jean-Paul 7400 – 600 = 6800.

With Card Trooper spoiling the stall portion of his strategy, Jean-Paul chose to step up his plan by a single turn. "I will now summon General Grunard of the Ice Barrier (8/2800/1000)." Reese and Pilgrim left the field in a frosty haze, but the swirl of ice became armor on the body of a man as big as a tree. By raising a single arm, he gathered all the moisture from his immediate surroundings in his palm and fired a spear of ice through the barrel chest of Card Trooper. The machine stood stunned, but General Grunard was not finished: Seven more ice spears formed in the sky and skewered the machine like a magician's wicker basket.

"That attack was violent, thorough, and tremendously overrated for a game played by children. I enjoyed it," Matt commented. Jean-Paul hadn't quite settled on whether Matt was a genius or an idiot.

"That General is tough. For now, I'll play Solar Recharge. By discarding a Lightsworn monster from my hand, I can draw two cards." A flash of light smothered the field, bright enough to light the day, but unable to blind the players because of the glass case. "Of course, I have to send two other cards from my deck to the Graveyard, but such is the price. One monster in defense mode should help."

_A defensive monster is why I wanted to wait to bring out Grunard,_ Jean-Paul thought, _but it changes little._

"Deep Sea Diva (2/200/400)." A mermaid monster swam onto the field through the mist in the air. Her voice carried well as she sang into the sky, vibrating the ice crystals in the air as a bulky fish-man swam through and joined her, entranced by her voice. "Her effect Special Summons the Spined Gillman (3/+1700/0)." The fish-man's very presence seemed to increase the level of moisture in the air, making the field more liquid and improving the fluidity of its own movements. "I'll risk having Grunard attack your monster."

"You see it as a risk, do you?" Matt replied. Jean-Paul gasped as he worried about what secrets he may have divulged. Once again, Grunard caused a rain of ice spears to penetrate the body of Lumina, Lightsworn Summoner (3/1000/1000). "Your gamble paid off this time."

Jean-Paul replied with a scornful growl, sending Gillman and Diva (+600) to attack Matt's wide-open field.

The boy watched as the two monsters struck a small avatar at the back of the field behind where his monsters and Spells would go. "Would you look at that? This board even has a physical manifestation of my Life Points. Is that meant to represent me? Oh, that is quite clever. And there's one for you, too!"

"Settle down. I have the lead now. I'll set one card. Take your turn."

Matt 8000 – 1700 – 600 = 5700: Jean-Paul 6800.

"The wonderful thing about this game, apart from the avatars, is how quickly the tables can turn," Matt said with soft, drawn-out words. He almost intended to sound creepy. "With my field currently devoid of monsters, the effect of Gozen Match will reset." The earthen pillars on his field crumbled as darkness crept in. "I will activate the magic of Monster Reborn to summon Darklord Superbia (8/2900/2400)." A blue light sparkled deep within the shadows, marking the rise of a fallen angel whose sin altered its form until it resembled a dark goblet with crimson wings.

"Darklords," Jean-Paul uttered with surprise. _Running a deck of such high-level cards… Was it possible to fit a god card into such a deck, or was this kid trying to act as though his fallen angels carried the same power with them?_

"When Superbia is summoned from the Graveyard, I can also summon Darklord Edeh Arae…" Matt's voice trailed off as he looked upon the old man standing in front of his monster, holding up a single hand—a simple act that jolted Monster Reborn in place and caused the image of Superbia to flicker and fade.

"Pride is a sin," Jean-Paul warned eerily as his Solemn Warning Trap consumed 2000 of his Life Points and negated Monster Reborn's effect.

"So it is, and it seems to have a broad definition. If Superbia and Edeh Arae are out of my reach, I will set a monster and one additional support card."

Matt 5700: Jean-Paul 6800 – 2000 = 4800.

"That withdrawn maneuver is proof you lack the power of a god." Matt cocked an eyebrow as Jean-Paul slid another monster inside the case. She was an attractive woman wearing a tight corset and wielding two rotating snowflakes. "Dance Princess of the Ice Barrier (4/1700/900) is more powerful than any of the monsters you've played. When I show you an Ice Barrier monster—" He revealed Defender of the Ice Barrier. "—she sends a Spell or Trap on your field back to your hand." He pointed out the most recent card Matt set, figuring the other was no threat if Matt set it so long ago without activating it. Dance Princess began leaping and spinning around the field, her snowflake shields spinning the entire time. She slid close to Matt directly and pointed toward his card, sending it away from the field.

"That is unfortunate."

"For you, perhaps. As powerful as Dance Princess is, General Grunard is truly more powerful: He gives me the ability to summon an extra Ice Barrier monster during this turn. I will now summon Defender of the Ice Barrier (3/200/1600)." To fill his field completely, he summoned a golden fox monster, armored by steel and ice. "Are you ready for the finale?"

"Is this when you finally enact your one-turn-kill strategy?"

Jean-Paul nearly choked on his tongue. _How could this boy possibly know I have a one-turn strategy prepared?_

"I'm part of the OTK Duel Academy chapter, a group of students who study one-turn-kill strategies outside of classroom hours. I recognized your strategy from the moment you set up multiple stall cards in sequence."

Disbelieving that his strategy could be predicted so readily, Jean-Paul slammed his fist on the table, unaware he might alert the people he had hoped to remain secret from. "Knowing my strategy doesn't change anything. It is still a one-turn strategy, and every piece is in place already. Deep Sea Diva (2) and Spined Gillman (3) will tune to form the Synchro monster Sea Dragon Lord Gishilnodon (5/2300/1800)." Diva's singing voice resonated with the ice crystals and connected her to Gillman, first spiritually and then physically, transforming them both into the same ice crystals. From the moisture in the air emerged the body of a heavyset dragon with a serpentine neck and a torso that moved like liquid. As the dragon passed over the field, it absorbed the ice crystals in the air and assumed the hardened body of ice.

"That was a long animation," Matt noted. "There's more?"

"Of course. As long as there is a card on your field, my turn is not finished! Dance Princess and Defender of the Ice Barrier will now tune together to summon Gungnir, Dragon of the Ice Barrier (7/2500/1700)." Spinning her snowflake shields the entire time, Dance Princess began gyrating until she caused the air to resonate with Defender's icy armor. Her snowflakes and his armor spread across their merged spirits, forming the appearance of an armored dragon encased entirely in flexible ice. And all the residual ice crystals in the air merged with the body of Gishilnodon (+3000), granting the icy serpent some of the power left behind by the fox. Matt faced down three powerhouse monsters with only one monster and one hidden card to defend him.

Suddenly a card appeared in the air in front of Gungnir. The icy dragon snapped it up in a single gulp and transformed its energy into a sheer spray of frost that slammed Matt's monster and froze it solid. Swinging the mace-like tip of its heavy tail, Gungnir smashed Matt's monster, shattering the monster instantly. "Gungnir can destroy cards on your field simply by discarding… up to two cards." The icy dragon swallowed another card and sprayed Matt's final card—a card he set on his second turn.

When the card froze over, a rhythmic whistle haunted the air. "Sorry to say, before you destroy my card, I choose to wield its effect. You've heard of the Flute of Summoning Kuriboh, haven't you?" Following the haunting melody swelling on Matt's side of the field came a small, winged quadruped with few visible features beneath its layers of fur. "Of the cards it can summon to my defense, I've chosen Winged Kuriboh (1/300/200)."

Jean-Paul was aghast with the play. More than three turns ago, this little man with the annoying ramble prepared a defense for the OTK strategy that would end the duel against all other opponents. It didn't matter what he did next or in what sequence: As soon as Winged Kuriboh went to the Graveyard, Matt's entire field would be protected from all damage. Settling for a move that had to happen, he signaled for a rain of ice spears to skewer the fluffy monster.

"The play was impressive," Jean-Paul admitted in a huff, "but you still fail to prove the power of a god."

Matt held perfectly still for a moment, leaning back in the relaxed position he held during the entire duel so far. Very dramatically he leaned forward and put on a scowl. "You want the power of a god? Are you certain?"

With a scoff, Jean-Paul said, "That was the purpose of this duel."

"No take backs," Matt warned him.

"Try me."

Matt grinned. "Alright then. I'll show you a god."

Though he asked for it, Jean-Paul felt the intensity of Matt's words. The air itself seemed to change as Matt reached for his deck. As he lifted the top card, the air shifted again—almost skyrocketing the temperature ever so briefly. _Was that from the card he just drew?_

He placed down that same card. "Because I have a lot of monsters in my Graveyard, I can summon Sephylon, the Ultimate Timelord (10/4000/4000) without Tributes." Ten bright lights appeared on the field in the shape of a prismatic crystal, dimming to show a body resembling a game piece with wings formed from the merged energy of the monster's own light. On its chest was a reflective plate with a clouded image of an elderly man. "The card looks so much nicer in hologram form," Matt added with a slight grin.

"That card isn't a god!" Jean-Paul exclaimed. What was that sensation just then if it wasn't a god card Matt just drew?

"Are you sure? You see what he can do, right?" The light from Sephylon's wings became great a second time. A heavy, purple haze emerged from the light, forming a new body similar to Sephylon's. The arms were like pieces of pipe attached to enormous claws. Its chest was purple and reflective, appearing to show the image of a human face. "Once per turn, Sephylon summons a companion: This time, it's Metaion, the Timelord (10/+4000/0)."

Jean-Paul scoffed. "The card is powerful, yes, but definitely not a god. I've seen other copies of it before. And more importantly, the card you drew—"

"Take a look at this card instead." As suddenly as he summoned them both, Matt placed a card on the field and then discarded both of his Timelords as Tributes. From the light of the two monsters appeared a transparent being—almost ghostlike. It took the form of a dark-haired woman no bigger or taller than the average humanoid monster card, adorned with a single, blue robe draped over her shoulders and a simple, golden tiara that shone as a halo on her skin. "I call this one Spenta Mainyu (10/2400/4000)."

Jean-Paul was captivated by the woman on the field. She held more allure than any human woman he'd ever met, yet there was something even more mysterious about her. Poirrot Gaming Division developed the duel board they were using and uploaded the holographic information for all the cards to be played. Spenta Mainyu's information was never uploaded, and yet there she was, standing before him.

"She's gorgeous, isn't she?" Matt asked after a moment of watching Jean-Paul with amusement. "If it helps, I'll have her attack." Spenta Mainyu crossed her hands over her chest and her tiara shimmered. Suddenly a man as tall as the entire duel case appeared. He wore the same robe as the woman who summoned him, but his shoulders, legs, and arms were guarded by golden armor and his face was obscured by his hood. White wings spread wide behind him as he leapt past Spenta Mainyu and slammed directly into the holographic image of Jean-Paul's Life Points before fading away, leaving the woman on the field alone.

"You like that? That's the manifestation of Spenta Mainyu's truth. And truth cuts straight through any defense."

Matt 5700: Jean-Paul 4800 – 2400 = 2400.

It took Jean-Paul almost a minute to recover from the shock. All the evidence suggested this little woman had within her the same power as a behemoth like Obelisk the Tormentor, yet she was truly an unimposing figure, save her captivating effect on her opponent.

"How did you obtain such a majestic god card?"

"From an equally majestic human," Matt replied. "You should have seen the effect she and her card each had on Bryan over there. I thought his head might explode. He actually went for two weeks without flirting with another woman."

Steeling his nerves and trying to find fault with the divine woman, Jean Paul drew from his deck. "We'll test her true prowess as a god right now! If she truly holds the power of a god, then she will survive this attack from Gungnir!" His ice-coated dragon swallowed a card from his hand, drawing in its magical powers and transformed it into a sheer spray of frost.

But Spenta Mainyu stood nonchalantly, holding her alluring smirk as the frost separated on both sides of her body. The holographic dummy that represented Matt's Life Points stood in front of her, absorbing the damage and protecting her. "Spenta Mainyu is not immune to destruction," Matt explained, "but I'm willing to use My Body as a Shield." Gungnir was too competitive to fail, and he poured his entire essence into the assault. Matt's Life Points were unyielding, however, and Gungnir destroyed himself in the effort. Matt protected his monster and destroyed the enemy in exchange for 1500 of his own Life Points.

"Now your defense of her is gone. Can she survive an attack from General Grunard (2800)?"

Ice spears began to appear in the sky, but a sudden appearance of a samurai spirit interfered; he swiped across the sky with a wakizashi and dispersed the ice crystals, negating Grunard's attack.

"Yes, with the help of Necro Gardna. I remove him from the Graveyard and he negates your attack."

Now Jean-Paul was out of options. Destruction failed through both effects and attacks. His only option was the Mirror Force card he just drew. He set the card and ended his turn, hoping to destroy the goddess on the next turn.

Matt 5700 – 1500 = 4200: Jean-Paul 2400.

Matt looked up from his deck without raising his head. "You are not aware of this yet, but I need no card to end this duel." He carelessly drew his card and put it down on the table without even lifting it far enough to identify it. "When Spenta Mainyu attacks, Spells and Traps cannot be activated in reply. And don't forget, she can skip right past your monsters to strike you directly." The woman summoned her giant warrior angel again, and he shot past the field to strike at Jean-Paul directly while Mirror Force remained face-down, unable to flip up.

Matt 4200: Jean-Paul 2400 – 2400 = 0.

Jean-Paul was simply awestruck at the power demonstrated by the tiny woman. Of course, she wouldn't be tiny in a larger coliseum. With a Duel Disk or a larger dueling platform, she would be simply a knockout perfectly representative of the power she held within. His mind drifted away from the castle, racing with thoughts of Spenta Mainyu and how he wished they could have been together in a more spiritual realm.

Matt noticed the faraway look in Jean-Paul's eyes. He waited a moment to see if the opponent would snap out of it, and then he leaned forward for a better look. Jean-Paul's eyes were dilated and his pulse rate had increased since the duel ended. He wasn't likely in any danger, especially with the guards in the room to watch him, but he wasn't directly responsive when Matt called him a few times and waved his hand across Jean-Paul's eye line. This was a common effect to land on those who lost duels against the god cards, but Matt withheld the intention to inflict any harm despite Jean-Paul's threat to shoot him if he didn't. This effect was inflicted at Jean-Paul's behest.

"Okay," Matt uttered as he gathered his deck. "Good game, thanks for entertaining me, we'll just go in now," he said as if it were one statement.

He stood and turned to Bryan, who was still sharing goofy bodily talents with the big guard Eight of Spades. Matt pointed out Jean-Paul's condition and Eight offered to put Matt's name on the list himself. While he worked on that, Matt checked in with his best friend.

"My toes are getting pruney," was Bryan's reply.

"I'm sorry. Am I to believe now that you are _so_ cold you have lost your mind?"

Bryan confessed, "I just spent a long time discussing injuries personal and inflicted plus weird talents I can showcase with my body parts with a guy even bigger than I am, who, by the way, can actually scale that wall right there. _That wall!_" The source of his excitement was a wall with an almost sheer face—no visible holds for feet or fingers that a normal human could utilize.

Matt pulled off his gloves and offered them. "Put these in your shoes, maybe, to help prevent heat loss through your feet. You'll need the extra warmth to help you keep it together against more god cards."

"Aren't you cold?"

"Spenta Mainyu keeps me plenty warm."

"Dude, you realize you're talking about your mom."

"She's not my—!" Matt paused to compose himself. "My mother _gave_ me Spenta Mainyu. She isn't _actually_ Spenta Mainyu."

"Are you sure? I mean, they're both really hot, plus it's a pretty big coincidence that your mom and your dad both had these really powerful god cards and you've got the spirit of an actual god living inside you. I mean, what if your parents really are human forms of those god cards?"

"That's silly," Matt retorted, "because that would mean there's a card version of…" He paused to consider the implications of what Bryan just said.

While he was momentarily speechless, Eight of Spades came back with the list in his hand and said, "I'll show you in now. The other seventeen duelists will be excited to know there's an extra god card."

"_Seventeen?_" Bryan repeated incredulously. "I only expected twelve. What other gods are here?"

* * *

_First of all, thanks go to **Titanic X** for reviewing my duel beforehand, and especially to **tiramisu19** for catching a pretty big gameplay mistake I was about to make. (Apparently I have a tendency to leave words off once in a while when I spend all day reading card effects.) I hope you enjoyed the first visual description of Spenta Mainyu. I intentionally created a stark contrast between her and the traditional god card, not only to make her memorable but also to demonstrate other ways to wreak havoc than just to send the opponent to the Shadow Realm._

_In the next chapter, Bryan and Matt will get a glimpse of what they're up against in this competition, starting with a demonstration of the original powerhouse: Obelisk the Tormentor!_

_On a belated apology for lacking any type of author's note last week, Jessica Parks was given thankfully to the story by **ZaneKazama001**._

_Cheers!_


	4. Compounding the Gods

Chapter 4: Compounding the Gods

Bryan and Matt were greeted inside the atrium by the sight of a duel already underway. One side had an Ojama monster, a small creature whose head was approximately sixty percent of its body mass. The other side was fully dominated by an imposing air of power. The guys arrived just as the summoning began, and its arrival was depicted like none other.

The ground exploded as if via volcanic activity, but the eruption wasn't ash or lava: It was blue fire so intense the hologram itself heated the room to the point where no pair of gloves was necessary. The flames washed over the small, mushroom-shaped buildings that populated the field and absorbed the presence of the critters running around in the backdrop. Their combined life force gave rise to a lanky being—very simian in appearance—that towered as high as the ceiling. Though its body was thin as a pole, it produced an intense aura unlike anything else Bryan or Matt had felt. Though this powerful, almost two-dimensional monkey clearly held the same kind of internal force as Uria, its power source was not the Shadow Realm. It was something else of equal power, but even more dangerous because it was unknown.

"This is Earthbound Immortal Cusillu (10/-2400/-2800)!" declared the duelist proudly. He was dressed in fancy clothes, somehow appearing to look rich and stylish while still remaining heavily protected against the cold. Leo Gambini was a short man whose hairline receded halfway across his scalp. He had a crooked smile, revealing teeth so perfectly white they betrayed the fact that they were surgically implanted to replace the chipped teeth he obtained in many schoolyard brawls, as a kid with a short temper was apt to participate in.

"Cusillu has the ability to attack you directly even with that useless runt on the field." He was referring to the Ojama Blue (2/+1000/-0) on his opponent's field, powered up by standing within the Ojama Country Field Spell. Relative to the towering golem, the impish ojama was the least threatening creature imaginable. With a few lumbering steps, Cusillu's lanky body reached the distance to strike at Gambini's opponent directly, an act which actually seemed to take a toll on the player as he fell back, only held upright by clinging to the guardrail.

Gambini 5000: Ren 8000 – 2400 = 5600.

Bryan noticed it first. As soon as Cusillu hit the guy playing opposite of Leo, the guy reacted as if he had been tackled by the Hulk. The gods of the Shadow Realm always struck in a spiritually exhausting way, draining the opponent of will and focus. This god struck physically, legitimately wounding the opponent's body. Most assuredly this type of god came from someplace outside of the Shadow Realm.

"Dude," he said as he dug his elbow into Matt's side. "Did you see that?"

"Yeah. His monster has the same effect as Spenta Mainyu."

"What?" Bryan remembered with surprise the way Matt's goddess also reached right past any monsters on the field to strike the opponent directly, just like that Earthbound Immortal did just a moment earlier. "You're right."

"Why? What did you see?"

"His god is physical."

Matt groaned. Though he acknowledged that all the god cards seemed to possess the kind of power required to create a living being out of a duel, part of him still longed for the days when the cards were just cards and duels were no more lethal than poker.

"That's what makes it a god," Matt reminded.

"No. Uria is spiritual."

"What are you saying?"

"Like heaven and earth, this god is something related to the Shadow gods, yet it is also something else. Maybe it's easier for me to see because I've held Uria for a long time."

Matt narrowed his eyes at the new god as if seeing it differently from a moment earlier. "Yes, I see it now. Spooky."

Bryan made a face. "Seriously?"

"Shut up. What do you make of this god? Relative to what we know, how strong do you think it is?"

"It's tough to say what'll happen in a clash of divines. But his opponent is Ren Bacon himself, the man who holds Obelisk the Tormentor. If I had to place money on a hierarchy of gods, the Egyptian Gods would fall at the top. I don't know what kind of god can compete with that."

"Then we should watch and see."

If Leo Gambini was unimposing for his stout figure, then Ren Bacon could be perceived as harmless for his thin body, tousled hair, and childish mannerisms. Dressed in a winter coat decorated with images of the Looney Tunes, he recovered from Cusillu's attack with a scowl on his face reminiscent of a child growling at a frustrating situation.

"You dare attack me with your god? Then I'll just attack you right back with mine! Tri-Wight!" Three headstones appeared on the ground in the middle of the Ojama Country. Consumed as they were by Cusillu's blue fire, the headstones held strong as the earthen graves shifted, the dirt ultimately falling by the wayside as Ojama Yellow (2/+1000/-0), Ojama Green (2/+1000/-0), and Ojama Black (2/+1000/-0) all rose from the Graveyard. "Three Tributes is all it takes for me to summon Obelisk the Tormentor (10/4000/4000)! Let's see how _you_ like it!"

The three Ojamas just summoned to the field weakened immensely and immediately, their bodies becoming transparent as they clung to one another for strength against the pitch-black backdrop. Spiritually transformed, they drifted into the air over the heat of the blue flames. Suddenly the backdrop shifted and presented a pair of eyes. It was as if Obelisk's massive form existed on the field all along. The enormous face focused down and shrank to the size of the field. The three Ojamas disappeared in a flash of darkness that gave physical form to the enormous god of darkness. Obelisk towered just as high as Cusillu, with the same black body, though with blue markings to Cusillu's gold. And whereas Cusillu's body was lanky, Obelisk had the musculature of a mythical behemoth and represented the ultimate physique.

With Obelisk's presence came the billowing of Shadows, washing over the field in direct competition with Cusillu's blue flames. "Your god is nothing compared to Obelisk!" Ren shouted as the mighty god flexed his arm and reached across the field. His single arm was bigger and wider than Cusillu's entire body, giving the battle one obvious outcome.

Yet Obelisk's fist never met its target. The field's blue flame flared and pushed back against the Shadows, restricting Obelisk's movement to the Shadow's limited reach. Cusillu stood unfazed by the failed attack, simply reveling in his own power.

"You cheater!" Ren shouted. "What did you do?"

Gambini responded with a smirk. "The same way you couldn't defend yourself against Cusillu, you can't attack him, either. Obelisk is known for having superior physical attack power, but even he can't hit a ghost!"

"Yeah? We'll see about that next turn, jagoff," Ren grumbled.

"One more turn is all you're gonna get." But Gambini knew better than to underestimate Obelisk—the first god card ever witnessed in public and arguably the strongest of all time with sometimes immeasurable attack power, but not without its flaws. Unable to attack on his own, Obelisk would have no choice but to sacrifice two other monsters in order to blast the field and obliterate everything. That would eliminate Cusillu and leave only Obelisk behind. He needed to cut that plan off at the knees.

"Double Coston (4/1700/1650)," Gambini spoke as he summoned a monster that appeared as a single apparition and slowly began to divide into two identical entities. The apparition remained one body in an incomplete attempt to divide. Moving in circles like two children pulling one another toward a destination, the apparition collided with Ojama Blue (1000) and turned it into a small wisp, which dispersed in the air.

Though neither duelist seemed inclined to share their strategies aloud, Ren activated Ojama Blue's dying effect and took two more Ojama cards from his deck.

Ren was a terrible poker player. He couldn't bluff, and the only time he won was when the people he played against were afraid of the repercussions of defeating him. In this moment, he smiled as soon as Gambini played a monster. Although Cusillu may be unassailable, Double Coston was wide open for an attack, and Obelisk always laid a heavy burden on the opponent's remaining Life Points.

Gambini noticed the smile, but Ren was a moron to think that Gambini didn't know his own weakness. Anyone could tell that he left himself open for an attack by summoning Double Coston. He had a plan for that, too. Cusillu lumbered across the field, and that's when Bryan and Matt saw something no hologram could possibly show them.

"I thought Cusillu couldn't be attacked."

"He can't, but he can choose whether to attack your monsters or to skip right past them and strike at you directly."

"You idiot!" Ren shouted excitedly. "Obelisk is _way_ stronger than Cusillu! It doesn't matter what kind of effect you have. Obelisk can't be targeted by anything!"

The lumbering was just a way to get started. Once he got going, Cusillu broke into a run as he charged Obelisk. When only a few feet remained between them, he thrust his hand directly at Obelisk's face. The slightest shift in his stance allowed Obelisk to avoid the attack and simply watch the hand fly by harmlessly. He paused for a fraction of a second while the Shadows exploded from his body, focusing his strength. Before Cusillu could follow through, Obelisk drove his fist into Cusillu's ribs, and then follow through by driving his weight into his other fist. But even though the golem was thrown back by the first punch, he was unharmed because the ghastly body of Double Coston absorbed the impact of the second punch.

"Obelisk is physically stronger, but the weak one is you!" The blue flames quickly swarmed Double Coston and consumed the apparition's body. Spurred by the energy of the second monster, Cusillu's flames assaulted Obelisk, again chasing the Shadows back across the field in a deluge of earthen power that blinded Ren and struck him even harder than Cusillu's direct attack had. He abandoned his overcoat in flames.

Gambini effectively owned half of the enterprise of Las Vegas. In his civilian life, dozens of dummy corporations and subsidiaries of his company purchased the lands and established casinos along the Vegas Strip, giving him a network in which all casinos provided money directly to his coffers—an overall enterprise in excess of ten billion dollars per year. By controlling all avenues of gambling, he assured that the flow of money was under his control alone. He assumed a similar approach in a duel. "_If_ there happens to be a time when Cusillu might get destroyed in battle, another monster's sacrifice prevents him from blowing up and beats you directly for half your Life Points."

Gambini 5000: Ren 5600 – 2800 = 2800.

It was clear from the look on his face that Ren didn't appreciate his precarious situation. Even as he formulated a counterattack, he lacked respect for Cusillu's power and instead felt only fury at Gambini's audacity. For there to be a man capable of rendering Obelisk almost useless… No! It was that Earthbound Immortal who overpowered Obelisk. Revenge against both would have to be brutal, yet it would take too long for Obelisk to be the one to deliver it. Another plan would accomplish the goal much sooner.

"I'll summon Ojama Red (2/+1000/-0)." Wearing red bikini briefs and a yellow scarf, a cartoonish imp appeared on the field and began dancing around, gyrating wildly among the Shadows that poured off Obelisk's body. Soon Ojama Yellow, Green, and Black appeared on the field beside him. "You want to see how powerful Obelisk is? Watch him eat Green and Black!" The two Ojamas panicked as Obelisk reached down and grasped them like they were no bigger than reeds. He held them tightly as their bodies dissipated into Shadows, giving each of Obelisk's arms a stronger sheen, filled to the brim with energy eager to escape.

With a single, bracing step forward, Obelisk swung both arms wide and clapped them together with the force of a storm. The collision snapped like thunder and the resulting shockwave carried hurricane-level winds. Cusillu and Gambini both struggled to resist the intensity, but the attack ultimately proved stronger than Gambini and he fell from the platform—or so Bryan thought. Gambini collapsed in place, but it looked as if a part of him was ejected from his body during Obelisk's attack. Much of the blue flame on the field extinguished right away, and the Shadows eagerly filled the free space. With his power dwindling at his feet, Cusillu succumbed to Obelisk's assault and vanished within the swarming Shadows.

"Now I can think of no better punishment for a blasphemer like you than to perish at the hands of the Ojama family!" Ren mocked. Activating the effect of his Ojama Country, he discarded the remaining Ojama in his hand to revive Ojama King (6/+3000/-0), a creature resembling an egg with limbs, wearing red bikini briefs and a green cape. "An empty field is the only thing the Ojamas are good for." With Ojama King shouting orders through song, Ojamas Yellow (1000) and Red (1000) shuffled across the field, largely hidden by the Shadows until the moment they struck directly at the location of the arena where Gambini would be standing had Obelisk not thrown him down.

Gambini 5000 – 3000 – 1000 – 1000 = 0: Ren 2800.

The last ember of the blue flame flickered for a moment past the end of the duel before the Shadows smothered it out of existence. Obelisk remained on the field, standing tall with the Shadows raging around him like a tempest. The Shadows flickered on Ren's face, showing the synergy between him and Obelisk. No one rushed to Gambini's side to see whether he was alright because they already knew. When the gods attacked, no one stood.

"Ren Bacon is a ruthless opponent," Matt commented gravely. "And his Ojama deck seems to work very well alongside Obelisk. Our only advantage lies in our extensive knowledge of the card. Fortunately your fiancée was the former owner of Obelisk so that affords us a bit of insight not commonly available."

"Doesn't mean it will be easy," Bryan pointed out. "You just feel confident because you took down all three Egyptian Gods last time."

"Yes, but Eden McCain was no Ren Bacon."

"McCrae."

"What?"

"Eden McCrae was the girl who worked with Maya Kawamura to control the Egyptian God cards."

"Who did I say?"

"Eden McCain was a fictional character from _Heroes_. She was the mental persuasion girl, I think."

"Hmm. They looked similar, though, right?"

"Not after the Shadow Realm consumed her body." Though Matt was the only one who saw Eden's charred body, blackened and turned inside out when overdosed with Shadows, Bryan saw a similar sight when he defeated the Sacred Beasts and the Shadow Realm consumed the other duelist. Neither opponent experienced an easy death in confrontation with the Shadow Realm: Their horrid screams were drowned out only by the roar of Shadows. When Maya tried to enter the Shadow Realm, her body disintegrated. She was lucky. Even Leo Gambini got off easy.

One young man nearby approached Bryan and Matt. He was dressed in a black coat with a high collar that covered the lower half of his face, yet because he wore no hood, his features were still visible. His face was thin but hairier than the two guys' combined efforts. A full beard connected his dark hair from one sideburn to the other, wrapping his mouth in such coarse hair as could be a reverse cowl. He wore a woolen headband to keep the heat along his forehead and ears. His overall weight was difficult to gauge with the winter clothing, but Bryan sized him up to be a thin guy, even shorter than Matt by a couple of inches, but possibly a few years older.

The young man said, "I'm surprised to find other people my age here. Then again, I'm not too surprised that someone represents Duel Academy at this place. Are you here to reclaim your cards?"

Bryan stared in silence for a moment. "You look familiar to me. Did you play football back in high school?"

"No. It was a duel," Matt argued. He smiled slightly as he pointed a finger at the young man. "Garry Daher, I believe. You came to Duel Academy as Godwin University's representative for the School Duel during my freshman year." He looked back at Bryan and reminded him, "You'll remember him as the sneaky opponent—the one touted as being a 'first-year student' even though he was a senior transfer student."

"Oh yeah," Bryan remembered. "I believe you won that duel."

"He did," the young man Garry agreed. "I almost had him, but that Dark Magician deck snuck out the win at the last minute."

"He does that a lot."

Seeing Garry sent Matt briefly down memory lane. "The Dark Magician deck? Boy, it feels like ages ago when I last used that deck."

"You don't still play it?"

"No. I gave it to my sister, though I don't think she really uses it much. Probably more of a paperweight in her hands than anything else. She's much too brainy to get involved in the world of dueling. I'm not sure why I gave it to her."

"Then I hope your current deck is at least as powerful," Garry spoke. "I don't know how much of the duel you just saw, but you must have seen how deadly the god cards are. I'd never heard of that Earthbound Immortal card before, but judging by the number of people here, I'm guessing there's more of them than just Cusillu. After all, the other gods come in threes, don't they?"

With the duel over, this was the first time Bryan really took a good look around the room. The crowd seemed diverse in culture and background, with some wearing jackets bearing sports logos and some wearing jackets that cost more than Zambia. He definitely recognized Joseph Titus from videos regarding last semester's GX tournament. But everyone carried themselves well and with a great deal of confidence. Holding a god card gave anyone that kind of boost, but the air shifted decidedly with Ren's victory as he claimed Cusillu. A second god card gave him a clear advantage over any and all opponents. Whoever dueled next would deal with the mounting tension that came with the desperate need to obtain a second god card in order to stand a chance against the excitable billionaire.

"You're probably in the best position to win right now," Bryan commented to Matt.

"Why's that?" asked Garry.

"He's referring to my god cards," Matt answered, but his reply triggered a realization within him. "Garry, why were you invited here?" Bryan couldn't believe he didn't think of that, either. Both guys stared back at Garry, eager to learn what he could share.

Garry was pleased to announce, "I have Raviel, Lord of Phantasms." The last time he and Matt met, he ran a deck full of fiend-type monsters—Infernity monsters, specifically. In a world where coincidence was commonplace, this alignment was almost too perfect. And how had it come about? Raviel was among the god cards buried in the ground at Duel Academy before its sudden and nearly miraculous disappearance. Someone would have noticed if a graduated student from another school had come to the island and started digging around in the woods.

Bryan was the one to ask, "Have you been to Duel Academy recently?"

"Not since the School Duel. Why?"

"Because the last time I checked, I was the one who earned that card and am its rightful owner. Where did you get it?"

"I know you're probably expecting a convoluted story about how I ventured into the mythical Shadow Realm and returned with a powerful card representing my strength," said Garry as he read the eager faces before him, "but the fact is the card was in my mailbox one day."

"Your mailbox?" Bryan repeated loudly.

Matt added, "That does seem rather anticlimactic. Was it addressed to you?"

"Not in an envelope. Just sitting there among the junk mail. At first I thought it was a fake or some kind of picture postcard with the holographic image, but after I played it in a duel a few times, I recognized it as the actual card that used to be at Duel Academy, and I verified it with Headmaster Charleston from Godwin University. It took me long enough to get the card away from him, but I always figured someone from Duel Academy would come looking for it again eventually."

Bryan caught the implication. "Unfortunately, the only thing we had to do with this gathering was my invitation. We're just hoping to collect the god cards while we're here and return home without getting ourselves killed. In my experience, there's not a lot of chance of recovering when the Shadow Realm takes you." With thoughts of what happened to the last people who lost a duel to the god cards, he opened his hand toward Garry. "Any chance you want to turn that over to me without the risk?"

Garry withdrew a few steps, so much that Matt told him, "No. Forget him. We're not going to take the card from you by force. He was just trying to warn you that by using that card, you put yourself in the kind of danger that may be particularly difficult to escape unscathed. Think of the stories, the legends of the Shadow Realm and what it does to people."

"I get what you're saying. You should understand where I'm coming from with this. My first instinct is to say 'you're both crazy' and move on, but I've seen what these cards do to people. Videos of them get pulled from the Internet because of their association with police investigations. They may just look like cards, but normal cards don't sparkle when touched." He searched his deck quickly and produced Raviel, Lord of Phantasms. As he held the card for Bryan and Matt, they saw what he meant about the card shimmering in his grip. It was the same as when Bryan held Uria—much energy but few Shadows. Garry seemed to have good control over the spirit of Raviel, and his own was strong. The sight, oddly enough, reassured both guys. Raviel accepted Garry, and that must mean he was strong enough to use it well.

"I understand what you guys want here," Garry continued. "And I can help. These people can't keep the god cards. It's only been one duel so far, but I can already see that half the people here are only interested in one-upping each other. All of this use of the Shadow Realm is the same as watching them gun each other down, only this way…"

"…they get everyone else's god cards, too," Matt finished the thought. "And all in one place. The circumstances do sound dire, indeed. If you won't protect yourself by leaving now, then we'll be lucky to have your help, Garry."

Garry smiled and gave a curt nod. "Now we're on the same page."

"So who decides who duels who?" Bryan asked, ignoring Matt when he corrected with "who duels _whom_."

"Unknown. I was in here with the others for about ten minutes when suddenly one of the servants announced that Ren Bacon was dueling Leo Gambini first."

There were men and women diverse in cultural backgrounds around the edges of the keep, but not very many of them. All of them bore a behavioral similarity to the Eight of Spades—the guard he befriended out front. None really stood out, much like they were trained to blend in when not needed. "Which servant?" Bryan asked as he looked around the room.

"Probably the one with the telephone to his ear," Matt suggested. One man held a cell phone to his ear for just a moment when he hung up and stepped up to a pair of servants and spoke softly to them, pointing toward Bryan and a Chinese man. "I believe it's your turn, my friend."

* * *

_Fair warning: This is going to be a challenging arc for me. As you will soon see, I am trying to create three simultaneous storylines, which is not something with which I have a lot of practice. Next time, you will be treated to an introduction to all visiting god-wielders, including one who especially catches Matt's eye. The sequence will include short versions of up to four duels in order to complete the thesis within a single chapter. How fun!_

_**Trivia:** Garry is a character brought back from the very first arc. I chose to use him again because Raviel requires fiend Tributes to be summoned. He's based on a roommate of mine who used to kick my butt constantly in a deck full of Man-Eater Bugs, Summoned Skulls, and Blue-Eyes White Dragons._


	5. Quenching a God's Fire

Chapter 5: Quenching a God's Fire

Flames circled the holographic city and licked the sides of the buildings, washing back and forth throughout the room following the ebb and flow of the tide. Hot air obscured the view, and both duelists became indistinguishable from the rising steam. With a mighty roar, the cyclone hardened into the red scales of a dragon. Its shiny scales mirrored the flames as they danced across the stadium floor. The image of the dragon was a frightening one—with spikes sticking out of its head and two rows of teeth lining its jowls.

"Uria, Lord of Searing Flames," Matt noted from his vantage point on the floor. "Of all the times I've seen the card in action, never once were the flames this intense. I hardly even notice the cold air around me right now. It feels like a bonfire onstage."

Speaking with a voice heard by no one else, Matt heard the reply, "This is the first time you have seen Uria's true form. In this contest, he is no longer bound by the constraints of the card that tethers him to this world."

Matt shuddered at the thought. He witnessed the gods once before and still remembered that feeling of pure fear that struck him when he knew the card became real. Suddenly the selection of a ruined castle in the far-north regions of the world made sense. No matter the consequences up here, the world would have little reaction to a clash of the gods. Uria was a prime example, singeing the Chinese man's white suit as he roasted the opponent's monster.

Bryan 3200: Lien Yu 5400.

"Undoubtedly this place has some significance to the gods as well."

"The castle was built in IX Century by a king who believed the celestial phenomena of the far north were something supernatural. He sought to understand and control those phenomena, convinced they could make him one with god. This castle was the base of his research. Continued studies cost money, however, and imposed taxes eventually drove the populace to rebel and sack the citadel. Parts of the building survived the revolution and have since atrophied over time with disuse. At present, no one cares enough for the historical significance to restore the castle to its original condition."

Matt wished he could see the voice which spoke to him, out of suspicion if nothing else. "Considering you only live inside my body, you carry a lot of information I have never learned. How long have you lived?"

"I have only lived as long as you," spoke the voice of Ahura. The emotion Matt felt accompany those words was a mixture of sadness and excitement. Though he was growing closer and more knowledgeable with his inner spirit, Matt knew something important was being hidden from him. That hidden fact was the very reason he shared his body with a second entity.

"I see. Then we'll just watch what happens next."

He was sulking. The lack of trust between him and the spirit within irked him. With his life, he knew Ahura would always protect him—he always had. Whether facing off against the explosive power of the Wicked Gods and feeling the full force of the Shadow Realm or confronting the embodiment of the Apocalypse on earth, Ahura always lent his power to ensure Matt's survival. But he offered no information about himself. He ignored all Matt's inquiries, spoken and unspoken. That act maintained Matt's displeasure with the relationship.

At the stadium, Lien Yu hardly seemed affected by Uria's attack. The common spectator found it difficult to discern the reason: Was Lien Yu so much stronger than Leo Gambini, or was Uria that much weaker than Obelisk? When Obelisk struck, the opponent nearly died. Even when Earthbound Immortal Cusillu attacked, the opponent staggered and required medical attention. Uria had no physical effect beyond that of falling off a bicycle. That fact gave Lien Yu extra confidence. He decided to challenge the great shadow beast Uria with a facedown card and another monster.

Lien Yu worked for a lucrative restaurant chain in Hong Kong, though one wouldn't guess he was in the food business by his attire. The clothes Li Yuen wore while he dueled against Bryan comprised a traditional Chinese jacket and shirt with matching pants, all pieces with thread counts higher than one thousand and covered with a layer of fine silk, and it was reinforced well for him to wear no winter clothing on top of it. He was only rarely seen within one of the restaurant's locations, and always in conversation with the site owner. Suspicions abounded regarding his specific duties, but one thing was certain: His default expression was a scowl, and he never spoke to anyone who didn't speak Cantonese.

Fortunately, as far as Matt could tell, Bryan recognized the bait Lien Yu placed in front of him. Immediately after his turn began, Uria reared back and roared loudly as the entire field erupted with mini-volcanoes. As the lava spread, Uria dove into one of the fissures and disappeared from view—occasionally a spike along his back protruded from the lava for an instant. The floor began to quake more and more violently with each second Uria remained unseen until suddenly he burst through the dirt directly beneath Lien Yu's facedown card. Lava rained on the field while the card disintegrated, and even Lien Yu's expensive clothes were affected by the intensity of the assault.

With Lien Yu's defense cleared, Bryan summoned Elemental Hero Captain Gold (4/2100/800), a Hero shining in the moonlight with a suit of golden armor and a crimson cape billowing behind him in the fiery air. Standing atop the highest of the Skyscrapers, he protected the city by striking down Lien Yu's defensive monster bare-handed, leaving the field open for Uria's direct assault. Drawing in a bellyful of fire, Uria released a heavy stream of fire from his jowls, scorching the field and raising a veil of flames in front of Lien Yu. But before the veil faded completely, Uria (10/3000/3000) himself lunged forward and clamped his fiery jaws down around Lien Yu, missing the body but threatening to devour him in a single gulp.

For a moment, Matt thought he did, but slowly Uria retreated from the enemy's field and returned to Bryan with Lien Yu still in one piece and largely unharmed. It seemed like a sure kill to every witness. For Lien Yu to survive with hardly a mark meant Uria was weak… or else Bryan was.

Lien Yu was banking on the latter. Uria would make a powerful ally for a strong duelist. This was the chance to switch masters. Before Bryan's turn even finished, he activated his second facedown card: Fires of Doomsday sprouted two black fires in a small portion of the field, each holding steady against the intensity of Uria's flames and maintaining their identities as Doomsday Tokens (1/0/0).

Bryan 3200: Lien Yu 5400 – 3000 = 2400.

Suddenly the field erupted like a volcano spewing from the center of the towering city built by Bryan's Skyscraper card. In front of Lien Yu, blue flames climbed the buildings and caked the grounds. A single right hand, large enough to crush a Volkswagen open-palmed, shot out of the fissure and slammed onto the ground as the proportional mammoth climbed from the depths and spread its presence on the field. Its body seemed almost transparent at first, but it may have been an illusion brought by the rising steam from the blue fire.

Earthbound Immortal Ccapac Apu (10/3000/2500) took the form of a heavyset golem. Its girth changed very little from shoulders to waist, and blue markings additionally distinguished it from the previous Earthbound Immortal revealed. This was the only creature Bryan ever saw that stood as tall as the field projection could go and as wide as the field could reach. No monster ever reached such proportions. Even Uria paled by comparison.

"There's the second one," Matt noted. Earthbound Immortal Cusillu was a tremendous surprise to him earlier, and Ccapac Apu still did not disappoint. Clearly these two monsters had enough similarity to assume they came from the same source. And given the existing pattern, there must be at least one more of them among the other participants. What power could produce such titans?

When Lien Yu placed Mist Body on the field, Ccapac Apu's body became shrouded in a greater veil of flaming mist. With god-like confidence, he reached his right arm high, leaned forward and slammed his Connecticut-sized palm down on top of Uria.

Or so he thought. Uria adeptly slipped aside to avoid the brunt of the attack, though he did not escape unscathed. With his tail crushed beneath the weight of Ccapac Apu's hand, Uria sacrificed his health by snapping himself forward and disconnecting half his body. Weakened but not defeated, he focused all his fire into the center of his chest until his body resembled nothing more than a serpentine flame, and then he launched into Ccapac Apu's chest with explosive force! The shockwaves reverberated around the field constantly as explosion after explosion rocked the castle and blasted the keep. Even Matt took cover to avoid the relentless onslaught.

When everything settled, the flames on the field died, consumed completely by the blue fire spreading from Ccapac Apu's touch. Uria's efforts failed despite a valiant and unforeseen effort. And then Ccapac Apu reached directly for Bryan. He braced himself for the attack, but Matt could see the way Ccapac Apu's arm flickered as it moved. The intensity of the monster's presence was too great to be affected by holographic projectors. That's not what caused the flicker: Matt simply wasn't strong enough to observe Ccapac Apu's true existence.

Neither was Bryan. He was prepared to leap aside after seeing what the assault did to Ren and to Gambini, but Ccapac Apu's hand was wider than the duelist stage, leaving Bryan nowhere to hide. All he could do was brace himself and remember that he'd survived attacks from the Shadow Realm before. But knowing he'd survive the attack didn't make it hurt less. He covered his head just as the massive hand grasped him tightly. It felt like trying to hold back a truck that had been dropped on him from up high. His muscles burned and his joints popped and snapped. He felt like a Starburst commercial as blood rushed to his face and threatened to pop him open under never-ending pressure.

Finally Ccapac Apu's hand drifted back across the field, and Bryan—young and virile—fell to his butt and swooned while he hugged himself tightly to reduce the stressful feeling permeating his body.

"He's struggling," Garry noted. Matt had been so focused on Bryan he had almost forgotten Garry was there.

"The attack was more than he was expecting," Matt clarified. "Judging from his reaction to that attack, that Earthbound Immortal has an effect much like that of Elemental Hero Flame Wingman: He destroyed Uria and dealt Bryan damage equal to Uria's attack points. Fortunately Uria managed one final effort to protect Bryan by returning his points to zero in the Graveyard."

"Yeah, well, unless we see otherwise, we should assume this Earthbound Immortal also attacks the opponent's monsters by choice. He might try a direct attack next time instead. Bryan won't be able to dodge that one."

"Then I hope Bryan develops a plan. Captain Gold isn't directly strong enough to defeat this god, but Skyscraper will give him an extra 1000 points when he attacks, thus giving him the bonus he'd need. Of course, Mist Body prevents the god's destruction from battle, making an attack rather fruitless. If Bryan leaves his monsters in attack mode, the opponent will destroy them and deal damage to his Life Points. If he leaves his monsters in defense mode, the opponent will bypass them and damage him directly. Given the situation, his best bet may be to hold onto his monsters and endure a direct attack." With his fingers crossed, he watched hopefully while Bryan made his play.

Bryan staggered noticeably when he drew, but he remained upright for the most part. He placed one card facedown, and then he summoned Elemental Hero Stratos (4/1800/300). The blue-skinned Hero, piloting a single-man gyropter, hovered high into the sky beside the head of Ccapac Apu and dropped a veritable barrage of fragmentation grenades. Some exploded on contact while others bounced off the mighty golem's head and exploded closer to his shoulder. The small bursts of fire endlessly pelted Ccapac Apu's body, but no damage appeared anywhere on the god's body. In fact, he showed no sign of even noticing the assault.

Until the grenades stopped. As Stratos returned to Bryan's field, the mist that protected Ccapac Apu from Uria's searing flames thinned, faded, and then disappeared entirely. The golem took notice when his protective field disappeared. Lien Yu sneered in response.

Suddenly Captain Gold leaped from the highest spire of the Skycraper and dove toward Ccapac Apu. With his fist held forward, he shot through the air like a missile. Bryan and Captain Gold both saw the way Ccapac Apu's eye shimmered when it had attacked. It must be the weak spot. Captain Gold's cape waved boldly as he collided dead-on in the…

He missed? How could he miss! Captain Gold struck Ccapac Apu directly in the eye. He fell straight through the golem's massive body and crash-landed on the back of the stadium, a far cry from striking Lien Yu's Life Points. There was no explanation for it, unless…

"He screwed himself over right there," Garry decided. "Bryan tried to attack even though he couldn't target the opponent's monster."

"It's an unfortunate turn but it doesn't mean he screwed up," Matt argued. "Now we have sufficient evidence that all Earthbound Immortals have the ability to avoid contact with other monsters. That's useful information."

"I think you give him too much credit here. He thought he was going to destroy that god card because he didn't think about the god's ability. The monster hit him too hard and shook him up."

"Are you suggesting Bryan made a mistake because being hit made him stupid?"

"He's trying too hard _not_ to hurt anyone else. You should learn from his mistake. If you're going to survive here, you need to fight with your full conviction. Have your gods hit the opponent hard enough to drop them, or else you may be the one who gets dropped."

Matt was dumbfounded by the assertion. He wanted to argue right away—to say that he didn't have to kill his opponents just to protect himself. But he couldn't argue that these opponents were clearly employing the same tactics. Ren and Gambini nearly struck one another dead through will power. Bryan may have been struck senseless, yet his attack on Lien Yu hardly even singed the silk. What if Garry was right about Bryan's conviction?

"I don't believe Bryan was affected by the attack. He expanded Yu's sense of security to hide that card he played. Just… give him time." He swallowed hard when he finished choking out that sentence. The truth was a difficult one: With all his effects, Ccapac Apu seemed unstoppable and completely lethal. Bryan needed to have a _spectacular_ card set if he was going to win this duel.

Lien Yu was a man of few words. The only indication of his declared attack was in Ccapac Apu's body language. The mammoth golem reached wide with a trajectory clearly intended to bypass Captain Gold and Stratos. The blue flames flooded the field and rose high like a wave about to crash down on Bryan's monsters.

Suddenly the air on the field changed. The blue flames instantly extinguished and the blue shine on Ccapac Apu's body dulled to a soft lavender shade. Stratos retained his color, and Captain Gold actually became brighter in the new atmosphere. With an offering of 1000 Life Points, Bryan activated Skill Drain to remove the effects of all monsters on of the field. Ccapac Apu's arm fell down on top of Captain Gold, short of its original goal. But the collision was still devastating, breaking through the armor of the Hero and cracking the infrastructure of the skyscraper. Window panes shattered and steel beams burst as the golem's heavy hand overpowered Captain Gold's perch. By the time he left a crater in the street below, the entire building was no more than a pile of rubble.

"Did that work?" Garry asked. He was shocked. "Does the power of Skill Drain really affect the gods, too?"

"Of course it does," Matt said, straightening his collar. "Skill Drain doesn't target the monster: It targets the field. The players themselves would have to be stronger than the cards, and no one among us is _that_ powerful."

Garry watched him suspiciously for a moment. "Are you really this smart, or are you just making it up as you go?"

"Of course I am," was all Matt said, ambiguously.

Bryan certainly looked relieved that his play worked. Ccapac Apu was still an intimidating target, but his Life Points were saved by the opponent's inability to attack directly and to attack a second time after destroying Bryan's monster. He still had Stratos with him. He could end the duel if he could remove the behemoth standing in front of him, but Captain Gold wouldn't be able to inflict enough damage in the process. He needed someone more powerful.

Bryan 3200 – 1000 – 1200 = 1000: Lien Yu 2400.

With the draw of a card, Bryan slapped down Miracle Fusion.

"What luck!" Matt said excitedly as he watched the swirl of energy on Bryan's field. Captain Gold emerged from the Graveyard and struck a Heroic pose as he was pulled into the energy. A column of flames also burst from the Graveyard, snaking into the energy and putting a smile on Matt's face. "You say Bryan can't win without his god card? Then this combination is perfect."

In the swirl of energy, Elemental Hero Captain Gold combined with Uria, Lord of Searing Flames to create a Hero with armor tempered in the fires of a Sacred Beast. A crimson cape, fiery helmet, spiked armor, and flames billowing from his very hands. Elemental Hero Nova Master (8/2600/2100) focused energy into his palms and allowed the fire to engulf himself before leaping across the field to face the opponent for a second time.

With his cape flaring behind him, Nova Master almost seemed to fly as he dashed across the field. Ccapac Apu swung at him, but the agile Hero used a burst of flame underfoot to leap high into the air over the assault and land on the back of the giant hand. Using the arm like a ramp, Nova Master rushed toward the sky. Ccapac Apu attempted to fling his assailant, but Nova Master deftly leaped from the arm back to the ground. Ccapac Apu's left hand was located well and collided with the Hero the instant he touched the street. But this time, Uria's flame didn't fade: Instead, it grew until Ccapac Apu recoiled and pulled away from its would-be prey. Nova Master (+3600) took the moment to gain full speed as he leaped through the air, one flaming arm extended, and passed straight through the center of Ccapac Apu's (3000) chest. The wake left behind him was a bright trail of flames that lingered for just a moment before coming to life and erupting into a brilliant column of fire, piercing the golem straight through from head to groin. After holding a pose briefly, Nova Master swiped his hand through the air. The column of flames condensed back into Ccapac Apu's chest and then dispersed horizontally, now piercing clean through the giant sideways. Pieces of the giant god's body fell to the ground in huge chunks—the smaller pieces burning to ash before they ever hit the street.

This attack affected Lien Yu. As his god slowly turned to ash and reached out in a vain attempt to fight back, Lien Yu clutched his chest, also reaching out as if falling just short of some goal. For two excruciating minutes, he grunted and struggled with the burning god. When the final ash fell, Lien Yu lurched on the stage. Bryan didn't want to finish with Stratos's attack until he finally convinced himself that an Elemental Hero's attack wouldn't inflict any additional pain. Stratos flew through the steam and charged straight into the small avatar that represented Lien Yu's Life Points.

Bryan 1000: Lien Yu 2400 – 600 – 1800 = 0.

The vibe was different from when Ren Bacon defeated Leo Gambini. No one rushed to Gambini's aid when he fell, maybe for fear of how Ren would react and maybe because no one cared about his wellbeing. But when the stage brought Bryan and Lien Yu to the keep floor, the only Chinese woman in the room rushed to Lien Yu's side. Everyone could see he was still alive, but he struggled to move on his own. Mostly writhing painfully was what he could manage. With a signal from the Chinese woman, two of the guards lifted Lien Yu off the stage and carried him out of the keep.

"I guess I was wrong," Garry said. "Bryan knocked him out with Uria that time. He just needed to use a Hero to help him focus."

"I don't think that's what happened," Matt argued. "Yeah, Uria's power was stronger when combined with Captain Gold's, but I think it was that Earthbound Immortal that hurt Lien Yu."

"What do you mean?"

Matt noticed it first when Leo Gambini was defeated, but it didn't really click until he saw it a second time. "Each duelist was knocked out when their Earthbound Immortals were destroyed. Obelisk's attack destroyed Cusillu and knocked Leo Gambini all the way off the stage. Lien Yu, just now, demonstrated his pain with the same motion as his dying Earthbound Immortal. I think these new gods have an unprecedented connection with their owners."

Garry argued, "The other gods are connected to their users, too. I mean, all the stories say so, and I've experienced it myself. It's like there's another voice in my head whenever I have Raviel on the field."

"True. You do make a very good point, and I don't have any real evidence of mine. But for some reason, these Earthbound Immortals developed even stronger connections—like parasites developing a symbiotic relationship with their hosts. Whatever happens to the god happens to the duelist."

Not a moment later, the guards indicated Garry and a blonde woman as the participants of the next duel. Patting Matt on the shoulder for luck, Garry said, "I guess it's time for me to go test your theory. Pay close attention because I'm about to show you the way not to get hurt by those Earthbound Immortals."

* * *

_**Author's notes:**_  
_These last few weeks have been crazy busy for me, and the next few weeks don't look a whole lot better. Workloads ramp up this time of year, but I'll do my best to continue updating regularly _

_Another big issue I had with this chapter, some of you may already have assumed if you remember my forecast last time: I never could find a narration technique I liked for combining four duels into one chapter, and so I settled on this strategy instead. I'm happy with the chapter and the little bit of actual battle I put between monsters. It's a nice change to try out with the god cards, though it would be impossible to do that kind of thing with a full duel without losing track of what's actually going on. Any feedback on the topic?_

_Next time, look forward to seeing Garry's strategy as he battles another Earthbound Immortal. Depending on the flow, I may also be able to put those other duels in the same chapter: Matt will confront an EBI as well, and so will one so far unnoticed duelist who will become integral to the story._

_**Trivia:** Nova Master is the only fusion Hero not to be featured in the manga or anime. He will probably get lots of feature time here because of his perfect role as a fusion of Heroes and Uria._


	6. Earth vs Sky

Chapter 6: Earth vs. Sky

"We may have underestimated Garry," Bryan suggested. Garry summoned Raviel, Lord of Phantasms on his second turn and obliterated Ashley Martin's Life Points before she even summoned her Earthbound Immortal. "Maybe he was right when he said he knew the best way to defeat a god card."

"He certainly put forth a lot of effort to prevent its summoning," Matt agreed. It seemed as if every one of Garry's Trap Cards was some sort of card to lock down the field. Clearly he put some forethought into this trip. "It seems an effective strategy. I should spend the next few minutes rebuilding my deck to include a similar strategy. It could mean the difference in my duel."

At that moment, one of the guards stepped up and told Matt he was next.

"Like I was saying, it won't do me any good to second guess my deck now. Now excuse me. I've got to go battle with the grief-stricken associate of your recent opponent." Though the exact relationship between Zeng Yeoh and Lien Yu was unknown, she was the only one who rushed to his aid after he lost to Bryan. Chances were good nothing would make her happier than to kill Bryan's best friend. The way she moved with purpose and direction, she might have been attractive for an older woman if not for the intense scowl and murderous look in her eye. Even Bryan saw that as a turnoff.

"Good luck," Bryan said sardonically. "I don't think she's going to be as easy as Blondie was."

He was correct.

Only a few turns in, Zeng Yeoh played Mausoleum of the Emperor and used 2000 Life Points to summon Earthbound Immortal Uru (10/3000/3000). Matt was never a fan of spiders, and Uru was as intimating as any spider could be. Each segment of its giant body was the size of a van, and each leg towered over the castle keep. Its presence intensified Matt's fear of spiders, but he understood the weakness of those Earthbound Immortals a little better now.

Since Bryan won Ccapac Apu and showed the card to Matt, they were now aware that Bryan inadvertently helped his opponent by playing Skyscraper and keeping it on the field. The biggest weakness of the Earthbound Immortals was they required a Field Spell in order to remain active. If Matt could at least target the Mausoleum of the Emperor and remove it from the field, he wouldn't have to worry about many more attacks by the Earthbound Immortal. Fortunately, he had Mystical Space Typhoon in his hand.

All he had to do was survive a direct attack. Just like the other Earthbound Immortals, Uru's reach extended beyond the reach of Darklord Edeh Arae (5/2300/2000). And just like the others, its reach extended beyond the bounds of the hologram projectors. Matt took cover under his arm as the giant leg dropped on top of him with the force of a falling tree. Uru was blocked at first by Matt's arm, and everyone in the room was blinded by an intense flash of light. Matt swung his other arm up to cover his eyes just enough for him to peer into the light. Uru itself was shining brightly.

Suddenly the light stopped. Matt was no longer blinded and no longer being attacked by Uru. He could hardly see the arena anymore. The entire citadel appeared like a distant mirage. He was standing on a beach of white sand with waters turbulent as in a maelstrom. The waves ebbed and flowed beneath his feet, wrapping around his ankles and leaving behind moving shapes in the sand.

When Matt raised his head from the sand, he saw the cause of the aquatic turmoil: A spider the size of creation thrashed about as waves assaulted it from all sides. This was no ordinary storm, either. Waves launched through the air and wrapped around the spider's back and legs. Dark clouds smothered the spider, retreating only momentarily under each thrash. The ocean and the sky reached toward one another with the spider caught in the middle as it struggled for freedom.

"What is this place?"

A slight draft from behind caught Matt's attention. He turned to see the embodiment of the Uncreated: the torso of a silk-covered man growing from the body of a white bird. Matt had never been able to describe the true majesty of seeing this incorporeal form of the spirit hidden inside his body. Half-man, half-bird gave no homage to the sheer warmth, power, and benevolence that emanated from actually seeing this godly spirit.

_This is the Earthbound Immortal Uru,_ spoke the Uncreated.

"What's happening to it?"

_These entities are rife with eternal turmoil. The waves against which they struggle belong to the collective consciousness—the organism you refer to as the Shadow Realm._

"I don't understand."

_The Earthbound Immortals are separate from the system. Their existences are anomalies. The Shadow Realm seeks to merge them with the collective consciousness._

Matt watched for a moment as the spider continued to struggle. As far as he could tell, the spider yielded no ground to its encroachers, yet it made no strides in freeing itself of the threat. The struggle appeared to be at a stalemate… but then, the Shadow Realm was limitless and Uru was just one entity. The balance would fade soon enough as the spider tired and was forced to relent.

"How can this kind of thing happen? I was under the impression nothing was stronger than the collective consciousness."

_In the end, the collective consciousness is more powerful than all other earthly entities; however, upon death a soul with a powerful, independent will may withdraw from the collective and maintain its identity, usually for no longer than a brief time. For this entity to have reached this size… Its power in life must have been truly remarkable._

"So, is there anything we can do to help?"

_Without a complete understanding of this entity, I can only say there is great risk each time a soul rejects the collective consciousness. The expansion of such souls will upset the spiritual balance of the universe and ultimately lead to a system collapse. If we quell the struggles of this entity in our duel and allow it to merge with the collective, we may avert the crisis entirely._

Matt huffed. "Win the duel, save the universe? Well, it's a slightly grander scale than my usual fare, but at least I know this semester is exactly what I've been training for so far." He darted forward, prepared to aid in the direct assault against the giant spider, but the waves flashed in front of him, startling him so he held back momentarily.

When he opened his eyes again, the spider still towered over him, but now Matt found himself inside a mausoleum. The beach was gone. Now he was inside the holographic field his opponent used to fill the stadium earlier.

Bryan knocked on the platform to get Matt's attention. "You okay, bro? You're still upright so I'd guess that thing didn't hit you too hard."

"Yeah," Matt said, rubbing his stomach to relieve the nausea associated with transcending into the spirit world and back. "I'll be fine… I'm pretty sure."

Matt 8000 – 3000 = 5000: Zeng Yeoh 8000 – 2000 = 6000.

"My move is easy enough," Matt noted. He slapped a card on the field as dark clouds billowed along the ceiling. "I'll play Mystical Space Typhoon to destroy Mausoleum of the Emperor."

In his brief daze, Matt hadn't noticed when Zeng Yeoh set two cards on the field. She activated the effect of her Trap Earthbound Wave: Uru stabbed one leg into the ground and a shockwave of energy ripped through the ground just as the typhoon produced a bolt of lightning. The lightning hit the ground instead of the Mausoleum, negating the destruction effect and dispersing the typhoon clouds.

Matt was momentarily stunned. Mystical Space Typhoon was his big trump card. If he destroyed the Field Spell, he wouldn't have to suffer through another attack from the Earthbound Immortal. Those cards were more powerful than the monsters he had on hand—being immune to battle—and he lacked any other destruction effects for the moment. He could survive one more direct attack, but what if Zeng Yeoh played something even worse? He needed access to more cards, and that was an effect he did have on hand.

"I'll summon Card Trooper (3/400/400)." His card materialized as a humanoid machine with arms like cannons. "I can send three cards from my deck to the Graveyard to increase Card Trooper's (+1900) points by 1500." One of those cards he dropped popped back out of the Graveyard—a white, muscular man-wolf wielding a battle axe—and Matt placed it on the field. "When Wulf, Lightsworn Beast (4/2100/300) is sent from the deck to the Graveyard, he gets Special Summoned to my field." He couldn't help staring at the field—at the giant spider god that prevented him from attacking. And Zeng Yeoh was a strong duelist who would have more than only a god to defend her. Matt knew the next turn would be brutal. "I'll set one card and end my turn."

In fluent Mandarin, which Matt only interpreted through watching the cards on the field, Zeng Yeoh declared her turn. "The effect of Volcanic Queen (6/2500/1200) enables her summoning to your field by sending Darklord Edeh Arae to the Graveyard as a Tribute." As Matt's fallen angel disappeared, fire produced a horned dragon with scales sleek as forged iron. Its body was long and serpentine. Small fires spouted across its scales. It was not Matt's first serpentine dragon, but none before gave off such heat. And few ever left his field.

"I summon Hardened Armed Dragon and then send it away to take control of Volcanic Queen," Zeng Yeoh pronounced in her native tongue. Uru slammed a thin leg to crush the skeletal dragon, and the force pushed black flames across the field to engulf Volcanic Queen and pull her back to Zeng Yeoh's field. "Volcanic Queen (2500) attacks Card Trooper (-400)."

The fires grew wild along the dragon's body as she reared and spewed a heavy fireball that appeared to slam into Matt's robotic fighter, but when the smoke cleared, the field showed Matt's monster safe and sound behind a bare-bones scarecrow that had jumped in the way just in time. "Scrap-Iron Scarecrow negates one attack," Matt explained.

His opponent wasn't fazed much, even as the scarecrow set itself for a second use. She simply sent Earthbound Immortal Uru (3000) to land a second direct attack, bypassing Card Trooper and Wulf entirely. Matt braced himself through the painful assault. It felt like being skewered through the abdomen, but the pain dulled as Matt was overcome with a sense of emotional turmoil. For just a moment, he could hear the cries of the tortured god. It was in pain.

"I'll end this," Matt vowed under his breath. Zeng Yeoh set one card and ended her turn with a glare. She wanted to destroy Matt. Uru was her vessel to exact revenge on those who would attack her husband. The Earthbound Immortal was only a slave to her, struggling to save itself while it obeyed her commands.

Matt 5000 – 3000 = 2000: Zeng Yeoh 8000.

Matt touched his deck but did not draw immediately. He felt the power flow from his fingers to the cards and search out the card he needed. As he slowly lifted the card from the pile, he knew without looking the card was Trade-In. "By dropping a level eight monster in the Graveyard, I can draw two new cards." Again, he lay his fingers on the deck as he sent his power into the cards, seeking two specific plays.

"To begin my assault, I'll offer Card Trooper as a Tribute to activate Volcanic Queen's effect and inflict 1000 points of damage to you." The flames on the body of the flaming dragon exploded into infernos. She reared back and whipped her body forward as she spewed a heavy stream of fire that bathed Zeng Yeoh and her entire field in flame.

And immediately, she activated Doppelganger. A duplicate of Volcanic Queen appeared in the corner of the field behind Matt. To revenge Zeng Yeoh, the Doppelganger bathed Matt in the same field of fire. Though this card lacked the devastating power of the Earthbound Immortal, godly influence increased the intensity as he withstood the assault.

"Your opponent deals damage, deal it right back to him," Matt recalled the effect of the card. He painfully held his ribs and his eyes met Uru's. He remembered the pain he felt for the moment they were connected. "I don't know how to save you yet. But maybe I can ease your burden.

"I'll activate Super Polymerization!" A bright light appeared in the middle of the field and drew in Volcanic Queen, Wulf, and Uru. In the heat of a brilliant flash, the bodies fused together. They emerged in the form of a heavy mist that fell gently on both sides of the field. The weight could be felt even though no entity could be seen. "I fuse any three monsters of different attributes to summon Zurvan (10/3500/3000)," Matt explained.

In Mandarin, Zeng Yeoh asked, "Where is your monster?" The Ten of Spades translated her question for Matt's understanding.

"Zurvan is the god of alchemy. He is every element. He is time and space. He draws power from each and every living thing. And you will not see him until he attacks. But first…" He placed a card on the field and produced a tall, white griffin, with clawed feet and a feathered torso. "I'll summon Judgment Dragon (8/3000/2600) to cover the spread." Shining brilliantly as it moved through the mist, the Judgment Dragon emitted the powerful silver light of judgment that seemed to burn with such intensity as to eliminate Zeng Yeoh's own shadow.

She shrieked in agony, but the pain was of a different sort from the kind to which she was accustomed. In her life, she and Lien Yu had coordinated an effort to smuggle members of a Chinese gang out of the country. Through intimidation and threats, they pressured a restaurant owner who ran a smuggling racket, bringing poor families from China to the United States and giving them for falsified papers in exchange for indentured service until their "debt was repaid." When confronted by agents of the state department, Zeng Yeoh and Lien Yu killed them. Along with the agents' badges, Zeng Yeoh found in the wreckage Earthbound Immortal Uru.

She obtained god's power through murder, and the light of the Judgment Dragon repaid her for it.

"Finally, Zurvan (+4000) gains an additional 500 points if one of the monsters on my field is of the same element as his Fusion Materials. Now feel his attack!"

Upon Matt's command for attack, the entire citadel went quiet. All eyes bore intensely upon the mist that represented this unknown god, and all were eager to see what kind of attack would land. Silence filled the air—silence that might have driven even Zeng Yeoh's hardened heart mad had it lasted any longer. With a sudden and mighty roar, an invisible figure moved through the mist and struck Zeng Yeoh. Though it was brief, she caught a glimpse of the shape formed by the shifting mist: It was of a lion-headed man, tall and muscular and quicker than a lion itself!

Calmly, Matt smiled and collected his cards. "I'll be taking your Earthbound Immortal now."

Matt 2000 – 1000 = 1000: Zeng Yeoh 8000 – 1000 – 3000 – 4000 = 0.

Matt walked calmly to Zeng Yeoh's lifeless body, stepped around her gently, and acquired Earthbound Immortal Uru. He could almost feel some relief from the card as he slipped it in his deck. And then he quickly pulled his heavy gloves on so his fingers wouldn't freeze.

Finally, he softly bumped his fist against Zeng Yeoh's chest. She promptly inhaled a sharp wheeze and, after a short moment of choking on her own breath, sat up. With a grin on his face, Matt whispered in her ear, "Everyone deserves a second chance. Use it well."

Matt was sure he left her dazed, but her judgment had been passed. With the power of the Uncreated, Zeng Yeoh had the opportunity to change her life. Her crimes were behind her if she chose to embrace a new life. Maybe a cleansed palette would even rub off on Lien Yu. Odds were against that, sure, but even saving one of them was a miracle.

But drawing the Uncreated's power during the duel wore Matt down. Bryan had to help him to a seat while the next duel began.

"Are you okay, bro?"

"Just a little dizzy," Matt confessed.

Bryan wrapped one of his scarves around Matt's face to keep him warm. "Did you do that thing again?" He was referring to the ability Matt had of using power from the Uncreated to ensure he draws a specific card. Matt had always used the ability unconsciously, but since he learned how to use the power intentionally, he found himself much more drained than usual after a duel.

"Yeah. I saw Uru's spirit."

"You know you sometimes speak in riddles, right?"

"Sorry. When Uru touched me, I saw someplace—maybe a spirit world. The Earthbound Immortals are entities that rejected the Shadow Realm when they died, and now they struggle every day to maintain their independence while the Shadows seek to assimilate them. Zeng Yeoh's efforts brought further turmoil to Uru's spirit." He covered his deck where he placed the spirit's vessel. "I'm not sure how to save them yet, but they can't be used like this. This tournament is abusive to them."

"Alright," Bryan agreed. "We'll collect them without using them."

Garry stepped over and batted Matt's arm with the back of his hand. "Hey, Matt. You didn't tell me your brother was going to be here."

"I don't have a brother."

"Really? So, who's that guy?"

He directed Matt's attention to the duel platform. One of the duelists had wavy brown hair, dark-colored eyes, and a t-shaped face. In short, it looked like a second Matt had entered the dueling tournament.

Bryan and Matt were both dumbfounded. "Dude?"

"I know. I don't know who that is."

"He looks like you."

"I see it. It's like when Dr. Apple created those clones of me."

"But he's not a clone. They were exact duplicates. That guy just looks a lot like you."

Garry agreed, "Yeah. Are you sure he's not your brother?"

"My brother's supposed to be dead," Matt replied. "It would seem I was misled. Perhaps a clerical mix-up at the hospital."

Bryan suggested, "Maybe you were triplets and Cary only found records of two of you."

"Certainly plausible," Matt acknowledged, "but probably less likely. I'll just have to talk to this guy after the duel." With Matt finally able to stand again, all three approached the duel platform to get a better look at both the duel and the participants.

Garry said, "I wonder what god card he has."

"One thing's sure," Bryan said, "it's clear who got the dueling prowess in the family."

He was right. Matt's brother somehow allowed his opponent to summon The Wicked Avatar (10/?/?), a monster that transformed into a dark version of the strongest monster on the field, ensuring it was always stronger. No matter what cards Matt's brother played, The Wicked Avatar always knocked him back down.

"This is worse than when Garry beat that Ashley Martin woman," Bryan laughed. "The only thing worthwhile he's done is play that monster with the high defense points so Avatar still can't beat it."

Matt remembered when Bryan faced The Wicked Avatar. Even if Bryan remembered it as "a piece of cake," in reality, he only managed to overcome Avatar's constant power increases by using Neo-Spacian Dark Panther to copy the effect and cause a direct collision between equal-strength monsters. Few other monsters existed with that same capability, and Daniel Williams was a master at protecting his monster from Spells and Traps.

"This duel seems as good as done," Matt admitted.

But suddenly there was a big shift in the atmosphere. The flow of energy was noticeable to anyone familiar with the touch of a god. Suddenly Matt's brother had two additional monsters on the field, and he began tuning all three of them into a level-twelve monster. A masculine body emerged on the field—unclothed but with skin hardened and red like armor. Four, blood-red wings spread from his shoulders like a segmented cloak. Spines ran from the base of his skull down into a thin tail. Flaming horns erupted from his forehead over his thick, yellow eyes and stern visage.

"This is Angra Mainyu (12/4000/4000)," the duelist spoke.

Though reminiscent of a bull and looking just as powerful, Angra Mainyu wasn't the strongest monster on the field. The Wicked Avatar (+4100) slowly morphed into a large, black bull spouting black fire. No matter how powerful a monster grew, Avatar grew stronger. But still… Was Angra Mainyu a god, or just an unseen card? Garry wasn't sure, but Bryan and Matt felt the similarity with Spenta Mainyu. To them, there was no doubt of this card's godly power.

The duelist explained, "Once per turn, Angra Mainyu can target himself and one of my opponent's monsters for destruction. You then lose Life Points equal to your monster's attack points." Angra Mainyu turned his palms up and they immediately burst into flame. The flames grew larger as they seemed to draw all heat from the room in order to produce greater power. Finally he waved his arms and the flames left his hands. For a moment, everything was still, but slowly the ground turned orange as the platform heated up. The fire exploded from the ground, spraying both sides of the field with ash and debris. And then a second explosion centered on The Wicker Avatar! And a third centered on Angra Mainyu! Explosions continued bombarding both sides of the field until it seemed unlikely even the duelists would emerge alive.

Spectators waited for three whole minutes after the last explosion for the dust to settle and the field to be visible again. The Wicked Avatar was gone, but Angra Mainyu was still standing. "Because I summoned Angra Mainyu with two tuners, once per turn he withstands destruction. Now, you may be asking yourself how a monster gets to activate an effect destroying itself, negate that destruction, and still activate the rest of the effect. Well, it's quite simple, really. The only cost for the destruction effect is _targeting_ two monsters. The destruction comes after. And Angra Mainyu doesn't _negate_ destruction; he simply isn't destroyed."

Bryan told Matt after that soliloquy, "Yeah, he's definitely related to you."

Matt's brother summed up, "So if I am correct, and I always am, you just took 4100 points of damage from The Wicked Avatar's destruction, and you now have an empty field for Angra Mainyu (4000) to attack." Angra Mainyu rose into the air and hovered for a moment. Suddenly he dashed across the field and slammed his fist into Daniel Williams, bringing up a cloud of dust and shaking the duel platform. Daniel fell from the platform and hit the ground with a nerve-wracking crunch.

While Bryan and Matt wanted to help, what could they offer that the medical personnel allowed into the citadel couldn't? But by the time Matt looked back to the platform, the duelist who could be his brother had vanished.

"Where'd that guy go?" he asked.

Garry looked around. "That's weird. You'd think Zeke would want to introduce himself, especially seeing as you two look so much alike and you've never met."

"Wait. Zeke?" Matt repeated.

"Yeah?" said Garry, confounded by Matt's surprised reaction to the name more than to Zeke's disappearance. "The guard guy said his name before the duel started. You didn't hear him?"

Bryan explained, "He was probably feeling too dizzy at the time. Still… Uh, remind me why his name matters?"

"Hospital records," Matt replied. "Cary found out I had a twin brother who died at birth. She said his name was Andrew and mine was Zeke."

"But that guy looks like he could be your twin," Bryan said, slowly piecing together the same conclusion as Matt.

"Right. So if he's Zeke, then I'm Andrew. And I'm supposed to be dead. I, uh, wonder how that happened."

* * *

_Apologies to my readers for how long it took me to continue this story. That was an unusually long hiatus for me. I think for a while I was struggling to write because you can only retell "duelist fights gods" so many times before you run out of ways to make it original. To help with what I see as missing so far in this piece, I'm going to dial back the dueling for a few chapters and work on establishing a solid story. But the duels will return with more god card vs. god card action soon enough._


	7. Out of Thin Air

Chapter 7: Out of Thin Air

"A Ghost might be turning people into agents of the Shadow Realm. Look it up for me. The Medici building used to be a burned-down dormitory and we found hidden records. Read everything and see if they explain why people disappeared years ago. Matt's parents are creepy, rich people who used to be part of a secret society and gave him previously unknown god cards. Why not crack into the secret society's database? By the way, you have two papers due Monday, a test on Friday, and Team OTK must schedule at least two public events this semester and hold regular meetings at least once per week. Could you please find out why the hospital would falsify death records for Matt's twin brother no one even knew existed?"

"Are you finished? I've only got one bar here and not a lot of chance to charge my battery."

Cary really did enjoy being the go-to person when anyone needed help. Matt, in particular, would be lost without her. She'd known him since orientation day freshman year when he decided to duel against a moderately high-ranking student and show off a lucky victory. He was like a little brother sometimes, including the fact that he had a tendency to pile on the favors. At this rate, he owed her his firstborn if she asked.

"Apologize for making me spend all my time researching things not directly related to me when I could be reading or dueling." Now she was just making him suffer. He already admitted he had to be outside to get any signal, and it was horribly cold outside in Yasna so far north. From her comfortable room wearing a sweater hand-knit by her grandmother and waterproof thermal socks, she could hardly fathom his situation.

"Technically I can't _make_ you do the research for me. I ask you to and you do it because you enjoy having all the knowledge and being able to lord that over me, thus giving you the power dynamic in our relationship. And you love that."

She paused as she considered whether she wanted to admit he was right or if that would give him back some of the power. Finally she settled on, "Yeah, it's like crack to me. So you say your brother isn't really dead."

"I have no signal and I can't feel my… uh, everything… so I'm just going to start with bullet points and hope that I can get a message to you later to explain whatever needs elaboration. Are you ready?"

"Shoot."

"Okay. First, my brother goes by the name Zeke, which suggests I'm Andrew—the dead one. Did the hospital screw up or were they misled? Second, we've seen every participant with a god card today, but nobody has Slifer the Sky Dragon, The Wicked Dreadroot, or The Winged Dragon of Ra. We need your help to find out where they are if they're not here. That does it."

Cary took just a moment longer to finish making notes for herself, and then she gave her reactions for as long as Matt could handle the cold. "You really think someone misled the hospital into faking your death at birth?"

"Maybe. Given the events of my life over the last three years, I choose not to rule out any possibility."

"Does that spirit inside you have any answers?"

"If he does, he won't tell me."

"Mmm. Helpful of him. Bearing in mind most medical histories aren't publicly accessible, I'll see if I can find anything on that front. On the other side, if there's someone out there with the missing god cards, I'll find them."

"It shouldn't be difficult," Matt suggested. "I doubt if anyone could obtain such a rare and powerful card without the overwhelming desire to use it."

Now Cary had a chance to take back the lead in their little knowledge struggle. "But choosing not to rule out any possibility, you acknowledge that one or more of the missing gods may not be currently held by anyone. They could be hidden out there in places we'd never think to look."

"You might be right, but for now, let's start with the assumption that actually gives us the slightest chance of finding them. Being hidden in a tree trunk in the middle of a Peruvian forest will make them hidden virtually forever. At least longer than my patience will last."

Cary hummed to herself softly, both impressed with Matt's self-awareness and amused by his selfishness. "I'm sure for the sake of your patience, fate saw fit to give every god card a human owner. I don't suppose your divine friend is willing to tell you how they left Duel Academy to begin with?"

"He doesn't know. He saw me and Bryan bury it, but he doesn't know what happened to them after Bryan dug up Uria."

"That's unfortunate. It would really help if the gods would stop hiding stuff from us at critical…"

"Cary?" Matt interrupted sharply. "You know I hate to interrupt you because you usually hit me, but I can really only get any reception in this one spot, which is outdoors, and it truly is so very, very cold. I know I'm asking a lot of you, but please text me whatever you can find and I'll call again sometime."

"Understood. Just… don't die."

He chuckled. "As you wish." And then the phone clicked off. Cary held it silently for just a moment before she dropped her phone into her pocket and turned back toward the other students in the airport study lounge, so named because it resembled the departure gates of an airport due to the wide array of international flags posted.

"Sorry about that," she said as she plopped down next to Darius Mantzios. She looked at her textbook, still open on the table between the three plush seats, and asked, "Biology, right? What did I miss?"

Cary met regularly with her study group in preparation for their biology assignments and tests. None was particularly adept at biology, but since they got together and helped one another understand the concepts, they saw a consistent rise in their understanding and significant increases in their test scores. Alister and Jessica were the resident advisors of the Blue Mansion dormitory, and were seniors who had been dating one another since early in high school. They'd just made their engagement official over the winter break. Maikeru and Sean were actually students of the Yellow Dorm, but in an effort to prevent class sizes from getting so small as to be inefficient, lecture courses were not separated by dormitory. Darius was originally from Greece and, despite struggling to understand English often, had the best understanding of biology and was the one most likely to answer questions in class. Ivy was a daydreamer whose home was Paris. For her, the study group was part of a self-improvement effort to help her focus more easily.

"You've missed nothing at all," Alister said. He was usually the one who kept the group focused and on task during their study sessions. For him not to keep going just because Cary got a phone call was unusual. In light of his role, Cary raised an eyebrow at him. He explained, "We're all a little interested in knowing how things are for Bryan and Matt."

"So far they're okay. They're surviving the weather as well as they can, and they've each won their first duels against some god cards I'd not heard of. Thankfully, Matt didn't ask me to find out anything about them, too."

As Cary relayed her phone conversation, she worried about her god-hunting friends. Never mind they were going up against all the god cards ever realized with some newly discovered: They were spending a few days in what was probably the coldest village in the world. Maybe in still air Matt could hold on for a little longer than the average person, but if either of them stayed outside for even a minute too long, they could lose body parts permanently. Unfortunately, there was nothing she could do except trust them to take care of themselves.

"Matt's recent brothers attacked students here and absorbed their cards," Darius pointed out. Among all the students dueled by Matt's colored-hair clones, Darius was one of the few who emerged victorious without losing his cards. Unfortunately, he still didn't understand what happened during that sequence of events except for the emergence of the spirit inside Matt. "In wintry isolation, if he attacks, Matt will be up the river without a paddle."

"It's 'up a _creek_ without a paddle,'" said Jessica, correcting his word choice. "But really, what are the odds of Matt finding another brother all the way out there? And he has a god card, too?"

Cary hadn't considered that. Matt's family was a box of riddles already: Three years and she still didn't have a clue how his mind worked. Dr. Apple was one of the strangest and most difficult professors she'd ever met. And what kind of woman must Leona Moxley be to understand and marry a man like that? But both his parents gave him cards that had god-like power but were never included in any history of duel cards. So what if his brother had _another_ unknown god card?

"We can't do anything about it now," Maikeru pointed out. He looked into Cary's eyes and added, "The best way not to worry about it is to focus on how we are going to kick biology's ass on Monday!"

She couldn't help but grin in reply to his fake enthusiasm. Maikeru was right about one thing: Bryan and Matt risking their lives halfway across the world didn't change the fact that everyone else still had a biology test on Monday. "Well, some of us," she semi-agreed. "Sean, what's the difference between a C3 plant and a C4 plant?"

With a bewildered look on his face, Sean asked, "Why are you picking on me?" That was as good as not knowing the answer as far as Cary was concerned.

"Uh huh. Ivy, what's the Calvin-Benson cycle?"

"Is that the bicycle Alister rides all over campus?" Cary's amused smile was more genuine that time. Even with focus issues, Ivy wasn't usually that clueless. With an answer like that, she probably didn't know the correct answer and was trying for a joke instead.

"Okay then. Let's buckle down on carbon fixation, shall we?"

* * *

"All I'm saying is: I wish my dad was gay. He let me get away with stuff all the time when I was a kid. My mom always grounded me like her life depended on it. If I had two dads, my neighborhood would have named a watch association after me." Jason had an interesting way of looking at life. One might have difficulty drawing the line between saying whether he was optimistic or naïve, but he was confident with his worldview.

Clinton was feeling less certain lately. No young man likes the idea that his parents no longer loved one another, but it shook him emotionally to think that his dad turned gay because of it. "That's not as helpful as you think."

Jason shrugged it off. Maybe Clint didn't appreciate the quality of the joke, but it was better than some of the alternatives Jason came up with as ways to cheer up his best friend. "Things happen, man. Life comes at you fast. You've either got to roll with it and do what makes you happy, or you make yourself miserable trying to force something that doesn't fit."

"I don't care that my dad's gay," Clint argued defensively. "It just… came out of nowhere and blindsided me."

"Didn't your grandfather die just recently?"

"Yes. About a year ago."

Jason chuckled to himself. "Seems like he was probably gay all along." It was obvious to him that Clint's dad was forced to pretend he wasn't gay to fit in with what was considered acceptable societal practice when he was younger. Now that _his_ father wasn't around to lay on the guilt and society as a whole was more accepting, Clint's father felt more comfortable admitting who he really was. Clint probably knew all that, too.

"Work on not stressing out. I find the easiest way is to shut your brain off."

Clint made a face. "You can't shut your brain off."

"Sure, you can," Jason insisted. "Like this." Suddenly Jason went limp in place. He was perfectly still like a mannequin, with a blank stare in his eyes that seemed to look straight through the entire campus.

"I'm telling you, it's not biologically possible." And then Clint realized Jason hadn't twitched in the slightest. "Jason? Jason!" He tried waving his hand in front of his friend's face, but the action still elicited no response at all. Figuring he had a surefire test, he licked his finger and shouted, "Wet willy time!" He moved his finger right next to Jason's ear without actually putting it in. Either Jason perfectly called his bluff, or he really did…

Suddenly Jason lurched backward and grabbed his forehead in a daze. He looked around for a moment like he was lost—like he'd just awakened and he wasn't in his bed. Slowly he realized what happened. "Oh, man. How long was I out?"

Clint just stared with a dumbfounded expression. "That's incredible."

Remembering what was going on now, Jason smiled. "I bet that helps you adjust to your dad's new lifestyle a little more easily."

"Whatever, Jase," Clint said, renewing his mixture of annoyance and support. "I've got a full semester here before I see him again. I'll be over it by then. Let's just go another round. I think I noticed a gap in my strategy that time."

With a laugh, Jason reactivated his Duel Disk. It was a J12-series Academia Duel Disk that he bought the day he was accepted into Duel Academy. He got the sleek model—a long and thin version just like he was.

"Does your strategy gap have anything to do with the fact that I'm better than you?"

About a foot shorter but with an ego only slightly smaller, Clint taunted back, "Your pigeons will make a good supper for my frogs."

"Then it's go time!" Jason slapped down Dark Grepher, but then something stopped him from finishing his turn. Maybe it was a lingering effect of shutting off his brain, but he felt something nagging at him. It was a sensation similar to knowing he'd forgotten something that he was trying to ignore.

"What's wrong?" Clint asked, unaware of Jason's issue. "You're not even going to use Dark Grepher's effect?"

"Shut up for a second," Jason snapped. He turned away, clearly indicating through his body language that he wasn't thinking about the duel.

Clint stood softly and looked around. "Is something wrong?"

"I don't know. I just feel something… weird."

"Something… dark?"

During the previous semester, Jason was taken in by the darkness—by a man who sought to bring about the Apocalypse in corporeal form. It was a man who spent the better part of two years alternating between the identities of Michael Potter, a campus police patrolman, and the mysterious Ghost Duelist, who allegedly dueled students and stole their cards from them as trophies. In order for Potter to exact his revenge against the god of darkness, he needed to absolve his spirit of sin to prevent his own absorption by the darkness. He transferred his pride into Jason.

Though the other students, informally called the Sins by those who believed the rumors about the End of Days, had the darkness removed, Jason retained it. Aside from inflating his already impressive ego, the darkness inside him seemed to connect him to other sources to some extent—almost like broken pieces reaching to become whole again. For the time being, Jason had the edge over the darkness: He could use the strength and confidence it gave him without falling prey to the pitfalls of power. Clint only worried if that might change.

"You always think everything is evil," Jason mocked him. "Not that I can blame you, really. This campus does have a lot of bad things happen all the time. It's clearly haunted."

"I agree. Any chance you've noticed another Ghost or something?"

"I don't think so," Jason said. But he wasn't sure what he felt. "Let's go follow it!" He rushed to the coat rack by the door and threw on his leather jacket. Some accused him of trying to copy Bryan, some thought it looked better on him anyway, and some just thought it looked warm in the winter.

All Clint could think as he shut down his Duel Disk and grabbed his own coat was, "If I were a smarter man, I might try to talk you out of this. But in all honesty, I'm curious, too."

"That's what I like to hear," Jason replied with a smile.

Leaving the duel room in the basement of the Blue Mansion, Jason led his friend down the hall, past the lame study group, and out the door. There was no snow on the ground yet, but the winter air was crisp and cold—the kind of weather in which even Jason wore gloves. Despite the new sensation of the cold stabbing at all exposed skin, he still felt himself being pulled away from the dorm. He moved across the quad to the west, but then he felt the need to backtrack halfway. He continued to zigzag a ways to the north end, and then he spun around in a circle, frustrated.

"I lost it," he huffed.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean it's gone. The nagging feeling in my brain isn't there anymore. Whatever it was is gone now."

Suddenly a woman's voice asked him, "What are you looking for?" Hayley popped up behind Jason as smoothly as if she'd been hiding there the whole time. Neither Jason nor Clint saw her approach, even though she had the kind of appearance and presence that rarely went unnoticed. And it was just bad luck that her voice was high enough to startle Jason right then.

"Where did you come from?" Jason asked roughly.

"New Hampshire." Jason didn't feel the need to acknowledge that was a valid response. He just glared at her instead. "Um… I hope you find it?" she offered hesitantly.

"Thanks, Hayley. We'll make do," Clint said while Jason was still too annoyed to talk to her. How could a girl sneak up on him like that? And out in the open of the quad, too?

"You know," Jason started, "Hayley has had some dark tendencies."

"Yeah?" A well-supported but never psychiatrically-confirmed rumor that floated through the student body was that Hayley had multiple personalities. That's why she showed a much wider difference in her moods from week to week, though Jason saw that pattern among all women he met. Clint didn't have enough firsthand experience with Hayley to believe it was more than a rumor. "So?"

"So what if she's the source of that nagging feeling?"

Clint was still unsure of the point. "Does that mean you want to follow her?"

"Nah. It's gone now. Whatever she did is over for the moment. We'll be right behind her when I feel it again, though." He took one last look around the area and noticed nothing unusual. It would be easier if he had any idea what he was looking for, but that was the spot where the feeling went away. He made a mental note and slapped Clint in the shoulder. "Let's finish that duel and then go get our grub on."

The two duelists walked back down the quad toward their dormitory, and as they did, a single black wisp leaked into sky when the air wavered, momentarily providing a distorted image of the area as if looking through steam.

* * *

_With this chapter, we're reminded that sometimes even the best duelists need help to resolve issues with the god cards. Nothing concrete yet, but little to do with the god cards ever is, and this will give an eerie little setup. Next time, realizing there's only so much Cary will be able to figure out online, Matt confronts his twin brother Zeke directly. We'll learn a little about him and their parents, and Zeke will reveal one secret he very much shares with Matt... one that Leona and Dr. Apple kept secret from him._

_Thanks go to the readers who contributed characters I continue to us as Duel Academy students. A special shout-out goes to **Maxim and Knight** and **tiramisu19**. These two are the readers I'm aware of being with me the whole way for these past years, but I thank all my readers for continued support and encouragement._

_**Trivia:** Oddly enough since this story largely takes place at Duel Academy, this is the first time since Part I that two students spent their time between classes explicitly dueling one another instead of exercising, hanging out, or eating._


	8. Bonds & Brotherhood

Chapter 8: Bonds and Brotherhood

Was he knocking? The howl of the wind made it kind of tough to hear the sound of the door and _very_ tough to feel if the wood was actually solid enough to make noise. What if his gloves were too thick and actually absorbed all the force behind his fist, and his knock came out as a gentle "thud" instead? How long should he keep knocking before he gave up? With temperatures well lower than freezing, he could die out here!

Suddenly the heavy door slid open and Matt felt the natural pull to enter the small foyer. It was the size of a coat closet, and its entire purpose was to provide a buffer between the exit door and the actual living space. He jumped inside the foyer and helped slam the door shut against the heavy wind, immensely grateful for the rush of warmth.

"You're late."

Matt shuddered heavily with the cold, but even behind the layers of winter clothes covering his face, he recognized Zeke as the one who opened the door. It really was almost like looking in a mirror, except some things were a little off. Zeke's hair was thinner and longer than Matt's and his eyes were a little lower on his face, giving him the appearance of a slightly larger forehead. He probably grew his hair long to help cover it, Matt figured.

As Zeke urged Matt into the house, he added, "I expected you ten minutes ago, Matt."

"You knew I was coming?"

Zeke made a face. "You and I could be twins. Of course I knew you were coming. What took so long? I anticipated you would want to run a background check on me to ensure my authenticity, but I also expect you couldn't gain internet access here."

"That's a lot of anticipating," Matt said, impressed with his twin's foresight. "I managed to get one bar in the middle of town, so I called a friend and asked her to run the background check for me and text me the results."

"I'm surprised you had the perseverance to find reception here. It's awfully cold."

Matt laughed more than was necessary for such an obvious overstatement. "Yes, it definitely is. I think I got lucky by the time I managed to get the phone's voice commands to recognize Cary's name. Must have tried forty times before I finally connected, and there was no way I was poking it with my bare fingers."

Zeke led Matt into the house's sitting room. It was a simple room with wooden walls decorated by animal pelts and mounted heads. "Come on in. Sit by the fire and warm up." The fire did look inviting.

"Actually, I don't know how much good that will do me. Can you just light my coat on fire?"

"If you really want me to. Less competition for me in this tournament."

"True," Matt noted. After he got comfortable beside the fire, he looked back at Zeke, who was watching patiently from the couch. He looked like he didn't have a care in the world. "You aren't curious how I found you?"

"There are only thirty-two buildings in this town. That's how I would have found me."

Matt huffed. He thought that technique would sound more impressive the way he was going to tell it. "Do you also know why I'm here?"

"Yes. We're both twenty years old and have never met before we saw one another in that citadel." Gently, he added, "I was told you died in infancy."

"Really. Then you knew about me?"

"Only that you existed for a moment and then died at birth," Zeke explained. "I had no reason to think Mom and Dad lied about that."

"Mom and Dad…" Matt repeated thoughtfully. He'd met both Leona Moxley and Oscar Apple, the people who bore him, but even though he realized his filial connection, he never considered them to be _Mom_ and _Dad_. "They raised you, did they?"

"Yeah. Sorry to find out they didn't keep you around. Who raised you?"

"Hah!" Matt apologized for his outburst and explained it was a sneeze. "I was thrust into foster care. The man paid by the state to keep me alive—that's as close as I can get to claiming he raised me. He was a drunkard who lived off of child abuse and gambling. The house was always filled to the brim with foster kids. Some of them were lucky enough to get carted off to better homes, but I had a chip on my shoulder and never won over any of the social workers. The only person around who helped me become a decent human being was my little sister Lindsay. She's such a cute kid who's freaking brilliant and as level-headed as Gandhi." Suddenly Matt looked sullen. "She probably could have been adopted in a flash if she tried. I know it's egotistical, but sometimes I wonder if she didn't stick around just so she could keep me sane."

Zeke had a bit of a smirk on his face. "She sounds like an incredible young lady."

"Don't get the wrong idea. She's my little sister. I have a girlfriend back at Duel Academy."

"Yeah? Anyone famous?"

"Hardly famous," Matt laughed. "We're all a bunch of students. None of us is really famous."

Zeke shrugged. "I don't know about that. Lucy Mercer has definitely made a splash among duelists what with being hired by Industrial Illusions before she even graduated. Rumors abound that she's the one who developed the idea for Xyz monsters. Is that how she got hired?"

"She's pretty creative," Matt admitted. "My friend's actually engaged to her."

"Hers is a well-known name. And you've made a pretty good name for yourself with the tournaments you've won."

"I guess I have had a decent career so far," Matt admitted with a smile. "That's actually how I met our mother."

Zeke nodded. "When I heard about the tournament in Gathas at the casino Mom owns, I knew there was zero chance you hadn't met her. Did she tell you in person that she was your mother?"

"No. I found that out last year when a friend ran a background check on me."

"Is that the same friend currently running a background check on me?"

"She is."

Zeke chuckled. He leaned back on the couch to stretch and then got comfortable across all three cushions. "Then I guess it won't do me any good to hide things from you. Should we start with the question you really want answered?"

Matt sighed. There were so many things he wanted to know. He knew he and Zeke could spend the entire night talking about their lives and comparing their idiosyncrasies. Already, he noticed that Zeke had the same tendency to pop his ankles, which was something Matt started doing in grade school after his foster father beat him badly enough to break his ankle. But they only had a few hours' recess before the tournament would pick up again. He wanted to focus on the most important questions, and spend a little time bonding until they could get together someplace south of Yasna.

"What was it like growing up with Leona and Oscar?"

"That's not the big question," Zeke argued. He watched Matt until the initial confusion passed. As he sat, the air around him steamed. The feel of the energy pouring from him felt much the same as that coming from the spirit of the Uncreated.

"You've also got a spirit inside you," Matt said.

"Yes."

"Who is it?"

Zeke laughed a hearty laugh. "I wasn't expecting that," he said as he wiped a tear from his eye. "Just like you and I are twins, the spirits within us could be considered twins. He goes by the name Angra Mainyu. And he has strong feelings about Ahura Mazda."

Matt recognized the name Ahura Mazda. The spirit within him only ever referred to himself as "the Uncreated." The name resonated with the spirit and gave Matt a warm feeling. Having it gave him a sense of connection with the Uncreated.

"Did Leona and Oscar have spirits?"

"Yes. They still do. They only gave you those cards so you'd carry a piece of them with you at all times. The spirits of Spenta Mainyu and Zurvan still very much lie within Mom and Dad."

"So you knew about the spirits all along?"

Zeke grinned. "I always had an extra voice in my head. He introduced himself to me when I was seven. It made spelling class a lot more interesting when he's looking over my shoulder pointing out my mistakes."

"He talks to you?"

"Angra is not exactly a chatterbox, but he always has something to say. I take it Ahura doesn't say much?"

"No. I'd say he's quiet, but a vow of silence makes someone quiet. He's a freaking recluse inside my own head. He saved my life once when the Shadow Realm consumed my body, he briefly introduced himself when Oscar made me the object of some giant alchemy project, and just a little while ago, he told me that the Earthbound Immortals are tormented by the Shadow Realm. And there was one brief encounter we had over the winter break."

Zeke made a face. "Well, if he's only going to talk during a blue moon, at least he makes it something important. Did you actually see the Earthbound Immortals? I assumed it happened when Uru hit you."

"I did, and how did you know?"

"You obviously haven't developed any of your spiritual ability. Just enough to survive the Shadow Realm and see things from time to time. You can't do it at will, though, can you?" The look on Matt's face answered the question for him. "I thought so. Dad may have awakened Ahura for you, but he couldn't merge the two of you."

"No. For a while, I thought Oscar was the one who did this to me. Actually, I wondered whether I was even real or if I were just some alchemical experiment. The campus saw more than its share of me when Oscar made five more."

"He needed to make homunculi with the right kind of energy in order for the ritual to work. Few people still live who have that kind of power, and fewer still who would help him," Zeke explained. He seemed to understand right away about the ritual Dr. Apple used to awaken the spirit of Ahura Mazda. Good thing, too, because Matt still wasn't sure he could explain it well. But he did remember the out-of-body experience after the ritual began.

* * *

_Matt wrapped his arms around himself in a bear hug to reduce the pain he felt from the ritual. He felt like his insides were being rearranged, displaced to their limits without ever actually being broken. When he opened his eyes, he didn't see Oscar standing in front of him, and he didn't see the deadnettle grove where their duel began. All he saw was white everywhere, stretching to infinity in all directions. His body still had color, and his coat was still a vibrant midnight blue, but all other color in the world disappeared._

_One other person appeared suddenly when Matt's gaze circled around a second time. He also stood out, though not as prominently: a man dressed in a white cloak and a white hat, riding atop the body of a grand eagle. Matt couldn't see much of his face behind the enormous white beard. He could only notice the bright, blue eyes. They perfectly contrasted the feathers of the man's headless mount._

"_All this spiritual energy," the man's deep, booming voice echoed. "I will finally awaken. My power will return and I can share more freely. My purpose will become clear to me. What remains is for your spirit and mine to merge."_

_Matt felt a familiar air coming from this man. "I know you?"_

"_You borrowed a portion of my power to counter the Shadow Realm."_

_A lost duel against the Wicked Gods meant suffering the force of the Shadow Realm undefended. But he wasn't undefended: He had felt a warm light cloak him as the Shadows pounded his body and attempted to ravage his soul. "You kept me safe when I forfeited against Maya," Matt realized. "Who are you?"_

"_I am the Uncreated. My breath formed the spirits of this world. It is through my revival that the world will be saved."_

"_Saved from what?"_

_The man in white began to fade and Matt felt himself pulled away. "You will understand when the time draws nearer. For now, return to my father and use my newly awakened power to defeat him in battle."_

* * *

Zeke tilted his head, curious about an inconsistency he heard within Matt's story. He closed his eyes for a moment, but Matt noticed no change in the air. "Awakening Ahura Mazda shouldn't be where you stop. You need to go so far as to subjugate his spirit." He broke eye contact to glance at the clock on the mantel several times, but Matt pretended not to notice. He wasn't ready for the conversation to end.

His brother leaned forward and said emphatically, "Take control of him and make him a part of you! That's what it's going to take for you to have the real power of a god."

Matt looked simply dumbfounded at the thought. For a full minute, he didn't even blink. Zeke chuckled at him. "I'm not saying it'll make you omnipotent, but you'd never have to worry about losing a duel again in your life. That should be helpful when you go pro."

"I actually hadn't thought about being a professional duelist," Matt admitted.

"Seriously? A guy with your record?"

"According to you, my record might be tainted because Ahura Mazda has been helping me win."

"Actually, what I said was that you _could_ have him help you. It's possible that the energy he releases unconsciously has given you an edge over the years, but you've got to have some actual talent in order for his power to mean anything, anyway."

"Well, I have learned to use a little bit of his power already," Matt admitted coyly. "I have to know my deck inside and out and understand completely the situation in front of me in order to be successful, but his power helps me when the opponent starts to build power against me."

"I felt you do it earlier. Ahura's power feels like an exact mirror of Angra's. I know you've learned how to tap into his power to some degree already. I'm guessing it was that last conversation you mentioned. Care to share the experience?"

Matt shuffled uncomfortably, but with a sly grin—a poor attempt to hide his pride in himself. "How did you do it?" he asked in attempt to sound humbler. Zeke recognized the false modesty, but he opted to play along.

"When I was twelve, I wanted Angra to make me strong enough to win a race against a guy who annoyed me. He refused because he didn't care about the outcome of that race, so I _demanded_ his help. He became combative. We had a mental tug-of-war in which I made a bet with him: If he gave me the boost I needed to win and didn't enjoy the sensation of winning, he could withdraw for as long as he wanted. As it turns out, he likes to win as much as I do." He nodded toward Matt. "So how'd you get a little bit of Ahura's power?"

Matt took a deep breath and remembered all the stress he dealt with recently. "Last semester, Bryan and I fought against a god who threatened to bring forth Judgment Day on the entire world. Now, I can't be absolutely certain that entity would have destroyed the world if Bryan and I hadn't won, but I felt that power as it ripped apart the field where we were having our Spirit Day celebration. And I heard that event opened up doors to the Shadow Realm, and even to planes outside of earth or the Shadows.

"There was some kind of ghost that haunted Avesta over the winter while Bryan and I were home. It transferred itself from person to person through touch. It started out in possession of Josh Marbury at the bus station. It took over Lucy Mercer while she was visiting us, possibly searching for Bryan and his god card. I allowed the ghost to take control of me. I didn't understand at the time why it decided to stay, but now I assume it's because I hold two god cards and a whole other god.

"Before the ghost could destroy my psyche and permanently take control of my body, Ahura Mazda finally stepped in and fought back. We got rid of the ghost, and that's when I pounced on him. It sounds weird to describe it that way considering it all happened inside my head. A telepathic full nelson gave me a powerful feeling. It was the same way I felt when he helped me win against the Apocalypse, and since then I've found that I can initiate that feeling at will."

Zeke leaned back and stared at Matt with a grin of amusement. "Congratulations. Subjugation is part of the game when you want to become a god. I'm going to assume you've never achieved corporeal form. And I mean for Ahura Mazda."

Matt was ready to make a snide comment about the form of that question, but Zeke cut him off from it. It seemed more and more obvious these guys were born of the same genetic material. "You're telling me you can give Angra Mainyu a physical manifestation? In his own body?"

"Actually, he can manifest himself as an astral projection—kind of like a ghost. But I've also learned how to merge his spirit with mine so we share this body."

"You give him your body?"

"Even better. I _become_ Angra Mainyu!" It was the first thing Zeke said with any passion in his voice. He'd anticipated Matt's visit and the questions Matt asked, but his relationship with Angra Mainyu was his greatest accomplishment.

Matt decided that if Zeke and Angra Mainyu were close enough to become one, maybe they'd share something Ahura wouldn't. "Why would these gods choose to dwell within us? I mean… Why would a god want to limit himself to the confines of an earthly body he has to share?"

"Academic fascination," Zeke answered. "The lives of humans are fleeting by comparison with a god's, yet they can be so fascinating. The gods are primordial and dictate the behavior of others. Humans have the freedom to act however they wish and make decisions for pleasure rather than because the laws of nature depend on it. Living the life of a human is an extravagance, and one the gods have earned."

He dipped his head just slightly as he spoke. "Actually, it sounds like Ahura Mazda is simply happy watching a human life, studying vicariously. That's why he doesn't talk to you often. He doesn't want to influence your decisions the same way an animal researcher doesn't want to influence the environment he studies. By contrast, Angra Mainyu enjoys taking control a bit and living life directly with me."

Matt was speechless. He felt a tickle deep in his chest. The idea of having a god live inside him was already bizarre before he knew the god was there simply to observe him and watch the way he lived his life. The thought made him self-conscious. How would Rory feel knowing that a god was watching them make out in the evenings? How would Bryan react when he found out a god was aware of all his practical jokes? He were even know every occasional dirty thought to cross Matt's mind.

Very suddenly, Matt experienced a severe case of vertigo. The sensation was as if he were falling while his body rose through the air. His vision blurred for but a moment; it did not return completely. The world before him appeared in grayscale and felt as if time slowed to a crawl. Zeke sat before him in the same position, his chest taking a full minute to rise and another to fall with each breath.

"_Brother! We have been apart too long!"_

Nothing could have prepared Matt for what he saw. He expected to find Zeke was the one speaking to him, but the voice was much too clouded, with an embedded echo. The author of the voice stood beside his frozen brother, and he bore a strong resemblance to the god card Zeke played an hour earlier. Standing tall as a basketball player, with a lean body armored by hardened skin, was Angra Mainyu. His was not an expressive face: Though his mouth moved and his cheeks rose when he spoke, his eyes were stoic and narrow. The grand wings he had during the duel were folded neatly on his back and all flames were extinguished. His enlarged, clawed hand appeared natural and not an equipped weapon, as Matt had originally guessed.

Ahura Mazda floated a few paces in front of Matt, his brilliant aura shining white against the gray environment. When he spoke, his voice was much softer, like when he spoke to Matt before.

"_It feels as though only a moment has passed."_

"_A moment to us is an eternity to the human perspective, brother. Surely you have acclimated by now."_

There was an air of sadness around Ahura Mazda. Matt could see it now. The god living inside him wasn't withdrawn out of a sense of mystery or disdain for socializing: He was depressed. His whole life, the only time Matt felt any warmth from Ahura was when he himself felt dysphoric, simply because Ahura understood the emotion.

"_Why are we here?"_ Ahura asked of Angra.

"_Have you forgotten why we created man? Or is it your current dwelling within a human body that you do not understand?"_

"_I do not remember why I chose to take on a life as a human."_

"_No wonder you have kept your ward at a distance,"_ said Angra with good humor in his voice. _"You and I have long admired humans. Having free will gives them opportunity to inflict the greatest of evils or to perform the grandest of gestures. No two humans are alike, and even the same human across his lifetime will be as two different entities. As gods, our fates are set; as humans, we can experience life as they do."_

"_I do not possess the power of a god here."_

"_Power exchanged for freedom,"_ Angra explained. _"Do not concern yourself with the limitations of human life. The experience is unique and rare for a god, and it will end before you reach full enjoyment. Begin immediately. Connect with Matt and accompany him through his experiences. Your memory will return in time."_

Ahura spent a moment in quiet contemplation. Angra gave Matt a favorable nod. Almost instantaneously, both godly entities faded away and Matt's vision of the lodge room returned to normal. Zeke had barely moved, but the grin creeping across his face suggested he knew what happened. He and Angra really were as close as he suggested; the god already relayed the event.

"So Ahura Mazda has lost his memory," Zeke commented.

Matt mumbled, "I never realized. He doesn't say much."

Zeke leaned toward Matt as if to offer comfort. "Here's a little exercise for you to try that Mom and Dad recommended to me when I was seven. Go find a quiet space with a little bit of white noise and just meditate. That hypnogogic phase of consciousness right before you fall asleep is one of the most attuned states your mind will ever be in. That's when you're most likely to see Ahura."

Thinking back on how he spent most of his free time during the fall semester, Matt commented, "I've had enough meditation for a while. It didn't work for me. All I figured out eventually is how to use some of Ahura's power to influence what card I draw."

"That's helpful. But when you and Ahura become one, you'll already know how the duel will go." Zeke sighed and offered a gentle shrug. "If meditation isn't your thing, what's always helped me is taking a deep breath."

"That's it?" Matt asked, giving his twin an incredulous expression.

"A deep breath when you're stressed can make the world slow down. That can make it easier to hear what your spirit has to say. Of course, it helps if Ahura actually wants to talk, so you could just be out of luck. But seriously, that should be your goal. When you and Ahura Mazda are able to merge even for a moment, you'll see things you've never seen. Spirits abounding, the colors of duel energy, thoughts and emotions tinting the air around people…"

In all the time he'd known about Ahura Mazda, Matt never knew such things were possible. Yet it made so much sense in hindsight. There was a god living inside him! Even if Ahura never sought to merge spirits with him, if he could gain even a sliver of that power—to see the world through the eyes of a god! What must that be like?

"Hand me your phone," Zeke requested. After some effort it took for Matt to get his phone out of his thick pockets while still wearing his thick gloves, Zeke input his contact number. "We'll probably see one another again before this tournament ends, but I must excuse myself and get a few hours' sleep before the next duel. Merging with Angra Mainyu makes me a powerful opponent, but it wears me down. I suggest you take advantage of all the breaks to rest. You'll need it to survive."

Matt pointed to the window, which was still bright. "Is it really ten o'clock? It's still bright outside."

"Up here, 'day time' is also called 'nine months out of the year.' Do your best to take a nap. You're at the Brantley place, right?"

"How did you know?"

"Thirty-two buildings, remember? When you go through that door, circle around the house and the Brantleys' will be straight ahead of you. Northeast, if that helps." He noticed that Matt seemed especially resistant to leave, and Matt couldn't help feeling that way. Yesterday, he didn't even know he had a blood brother, and now he wanted to learn everything about him.

"Can I ask one more question?"

With a yawn, Zeke said, "Next time."

"Fair enough." Matt stood and looked at Zeke awkwardly. He wasn't sure exactly how to say goodbye. Should he limit physical contact to a handshake or just avoid it altogether? He usually hugged Cary, Bryan and he hugged fairly often, and Zeke was his blood brother.

Zeke solved the conundrum for him by raising a closed fist. Amused, Matt returned the fist bump. "Rejoin your friend and get some sleep, brother. You will both need all your energy for the next round."

Matt nodded, wrapped himself up tightly, and headed out into the cold, taking the shortcut to Brantley's place. But he knew Bryan wouldn't be there. Not yet.

* * *

_So, I'm not too wild about this edition of this chapter because it seems a little bit like an information dump. If I had another month to work on it, I could probably polish it to my liking, but I don't want you to have to wait that long. I welcome feedback that might help me make it better, or even feedback that says you think I did okay, if that's the case. I wanted to vary the setting a little bit, but I'm not ready to merge Matt with Ahura Mazda yet, and I don't want to give away the "eyes of a god" effect until Matt's first time._

_During the next chapter, Bryan will sneak around to learn something about the man sponsoring this competition._

_**Trivia:** The idea for having a god sealed within Matt's body was partly influenced by the main character in every Yu-Gi-Oh! story (5D's arguable), and partly by the jinchuuriki in Naruto._


	9. The Prophecy of Hellfire

Chapter 9: The Prophecy of Hellfire

Imagine Bryan's surprise when Matt wanted to go directly from the citadel to wherever Zeke was staying. As much as Bryan wanted to go along, Matt requested he have some time alone with his new-found twin brother first. Bryan understood completely, plus he wanted to find out why Lien Yu would leave the citadel room with Ren Bacon and head deeper into the ruined castle. Ren Bacon and Lien Yu seemed to have nothing in common, so watching them leave together was strange enough. But considering the murderous look on Lien Yu's face after Matt struck down Zeng Yeoh, it was even stranger to see him leave her side.

Bryan needed some creative footwork to get out of the sights of all the guards, but that was where sneaking around a ruined castle came in handy: Many of the walls were broken, offering easy space for slipping from one side to the other as soon as a head began to turn. Eighty yards back in what once may have been a kitchen fit for a king, Bryan stopped and took refuge just outside the door, beneath a decorative column that fell into the wall some time ago and behind the stone that fell over from that collision. Bryan could see well enough into the room to see the facial expressions of the people meeting in secret as they found seats around an archaic device: a landline telephone.

It was a meeting of only four people: Ren Bacon, Lien Yu, a heavily-clothed woman with a rather attractive face, and a big man with Russian features. Bryan was actually surprised Lien Yu was up and about after being hit by Uria's power, but he realized the intent to do harm was crucial when the god cards attacked. He'd heard it a thousand times, but a part of his brain still struggled to grasp the idea that the power of the god cards responded to the will of the duelist. That lack of injurious thought when Bryan attacked is why Lien Yu was walking on his own.

These people were prime examples of why the god cards were dangerous. Every one of them would just as soon put their opponent in the morgue to avoid a rematch. Fortunately for the first round losers, the Shadows couldn't feed on a dead body. They were all comatose in the meantime.

Bryan obviously recognized Lien Yu, and he was quick to identify Ren Bacon, though he'd never seen him before this tournament. An eccentric computer nerd with murder in his eyes and ants in his pants was easy to pick out of this crowd. He didn't recognize the other faces except from watching their duel, but Ren Bacon sure knew who they were.

Speaking to the big guy, he said proudly, "Eldar Vanko. I had always thought your identity as the Jack of Diamonds was a myth until recently."

"Some men can keep secrets," the big guy replied with a Russian accent. He sounded old, and his silver hair with the white streaks supported it. But he was big and appeared strong, plus he was wearing the least of everyone there: one thick coat, gloves, and a scarf. Maybe he was old, but he was ready to live a long time yet.

Ren chuckled at the remark. Clearly he was being mocked for not doing enough to keep his personal identity separate from his identity as the King of Spades. He seemed to take it with good enough humor, though. He pointed his finger at Eldar Vanko like he was holding and firing a gun. Then he turned his gaze and offered a wink to the attractive woman sitting on her own toward the back of the room. She offered no visible response at all.

In her early life, Ingrid Lund was the daughter of a wealthy Italian family, the second of three girls. She originally auditioned as a dancer for an American night club. After only two weeks, Leo Gambini purchased her and took her back to Italy. She became as a personal assistant to him, but with her manipulative ways, calculating mind, and cruel behavior, she proved to be a valuable asset and joined the ranks of the Hellfire Club.

"He is late!" said Lien Yu angrily. Bryan couldn't believe it: Lien Yu actually could speak, and his English was even conversational! Maybe the mute act was something he tried for intimidation. "Why do we wait in the cold?"

The big Russian shrugged and said, "Is not so cold."

"Says the Siberian," Ren mocked. His teeth chattered unfortunately each time he spoke. That explained why he was so quiet for the time being. With a group like this, showing even the slightest resemblance to being human was like begging to be destroyed. Probably in an effort to rile him up, Ren asked of Lien Yu, "Where's the Queen of Hearts?"

Lien Yu stood up so quickly he knocked his chair over loudly. His glare was hard enough to stop a bullet. He was daring Ren to make another comment, but no one else in the room moved. He stayed that way for a full minute. Bryan wondered how they ever got anything done if they spent all their time fighting over masculinity.

"He was only wondering about her health," spoke the woman, finally breaking the tension. "You are so quick to assume the worst, King of Hearts. It's no wonder you lost to that child." She had a heavy Italian accent, and from the look of her clothes, Bryan pegged her as having some relationship with Leo Gambini—the man who lost that first duel against Ren.

"You lose to kid, too, Queen of Clubs," Lien Yu retorted. "You were lucky. He was weak." He must have been suggesting that Costa Rican guy who dueled the so-called Queen of Clubs was weak because his god card didn't kill her or seal her in the Shadow Realm. She couldn't stand for extended periods on her own anymore, at least for now, but that guy didn't seem like hurting her was his goal in the first place. In that sense, she _was_ lucky.

"When you live life as a heartless bastard, you assume all people are that way," she explained with her delicate voice. "There are people out there for whom power and destruction are not the goal." She chuckled. "That's not to say the kid was smart to leave me alive, but he was awfully sweet and humane. Too bad he'll have to suffer for my defeat."

Vanko asked, "What of King of Spades? He could have killed King of Clubs."

Ren huffed. "Are you going to make me suffer, too?" Even off the dueling field, the aura of Obelisk the Tormentor began burning the air around him as he accepted the unspoken challenge. Bryan thoroughly hated the idea of a god card that once belonged to his fiancée in the hands of such a man. He was childish and allowed it to masquerade as confidence. Obelisk deserved to be in the hands of someone legitimately level-headed.

Ingrid offered a wink and a seductive smile. "Of course not. You did me a favor. The Clubs were going in the wrong direction thanks to him. The Valentino job should not have been public knowledge if not for his sloppy handling."

The Valentino job? Was she talking about the murder of Alessandro Valentino? He owned a production company that put out a lot of online videos Bryan enjoyed, plus he had his own weekly podcast in which he interviewed a lot of athletes, TV stars, and professional duelists. He had been killed through poisoning less than a week earlier. Initially police thought it was natural causes, but some detail led them to investigate further. It was either something he was allergic to or something untraceable. The details escaped Bryan at the time, but finally he knew these people were involved. Authorities didn't have a suspect but they knew Valentino was poisoned and that counted as a botched job? Suddenly, spying on these people seemed phenomenally stupid.

"I'll collect one day, Queen," Ren assured her. He hugged himself and then blew on his gloved hands. "Maybe tonight, even, if you catch my drift."

"I do not think you could keep up with me," she suggested.

"All I want is your body heat," he retorted. "Whose brilliant idea was it to play this game at the freakin' North Pole?" The question was rhetorical. All the invitations bore Ren Bacon's moniker. Bryan wondered why he would even ask such a question. Either he just wanted everyone thinking about him all the time, or someone else actually set the location.

Come to think of it, who were they waiting for? Bryan thought these guys were the leaders of the Hellfire Club, and it was clear they didn't like one another. What could bring them together around a landline in the middle of the frozen arctic?

Just as Ren and Ingrid began to look as agitated as Lien Yu always did, Eldar asked, "Do you know story of this citadel?"

"There's a story to this rubble?" Ingrid replied, her voice dripping with disdain.

"Ancient peoples believed god made Earth and made home at North Pole. Aurora Borealis was smoke from fires of god. Ancient Tsar Sanjan sought audience with god here, but found lights were not of god's fire. He learned there is world beyond this and changed legend to say lights were doorway to upper world. His goal became opening door. Telescopes cannot see it. Is not physical place for living things. When people die, their essence… What you call? Wills. Spirits. They go to place beyond, where spirits collect."

Suddenly the phone began ringing.

"Thank god!" Ren shouted as he lunged for it. It rang once more before he got the speaker phone button. That was the first time in a long time Bryan heard the ring of a touch tone phone. The last time had been when he was playing around with ringtones on his cell and chanced upon the classic ringer. Back then the Egyptian God Cards were new creations, and today Bryan was still learning about new god cards.

"Roll call," spoke the altered voice on the other end of the phone. It was thicker and deeper than a normal voice, clearly computer-like, but the base resonance was male.

Grudgingly, Ren announced, "Spades." The other three rattled off their titles in succession. Ren fidgeted continuously in his seat while Lien Yu paced the room. Only Eldar and Ingrid seemed unfazed by the call.

"The Queen of Hearts did not recover." It was more of a statement than a question. That meant the man on the phone knew the outcome of Zeng Yeoh's duel with Matt. "Ten of Hearts will be promoted upon completion of this tournament."

"She will recover!" Lien Yu shouted.

"Ten will be promoted!" the phone commanded a second time. This time, Lien Yu bit his tongue and kicked a loose stone from the wall, but he did not argue aloud. Through his feelings for Zeng Yeoh, he held powerful respect—maybe fear—for the man on the phone. "Queen of Clubs, I'm sorry about your King. We're fortunate you were unharmed."

With a voice much sultrier than she had used so far, Ingrid said, "Thanks for your concern, Overlord, but Jack of Clubs will make a fine King."

"No. Ace is better suited. I have no doubt with your help he will recover any lost ground within a week. Nine will be promoted to Ace of Clubs."

"As you wish, Overlord." She sounded as if she truly didn't care who her partner was. Either her relationship with Leo wasn't as intimate as Lien Yu's was with Zeng Yeoh, or Ingrid Lund was truly cold-hearted.

She called the man on the phone Overlord. Bryan realized that was how an organization with major chapters in four different countries could operate with any level of cohesion. In hindsight, it was obvious there would be someone in charge of overseeing the whole organization. If these people were already among the most powerful and influential people in the world; what kind of man or woman must be the one controlling all of them?

"Miroslav Gregor has accepted membership into the Czech branch. Queen, keep your eye on him. He is a candidate for Number status, and his business will make or break trade in the region. Geneva Remillard has also accepted by way of inheritance into the New York branch. Take advantage of her influence while it lasts, King of Spades."

"Always happy to take a swimsuit model under my wing," Ren said with a snicker. The look on everyone else's face suggested talking like that to the Overlord was practically a death wish. If those two new members were representative of the entire organization, Bryan surmised the purpose of the organization was world domination through politics and economics rather than through war and force, though considering they would organize an assassination, they probably weren't above getting involved in a war as long as it furthered their agendas.

Lien Yu stopped pacing for a moment to say, "Sir, about Tain Han…"

"He will grow," the Overlord spoke. "Those who have lost power can regain it. His knowledge will make him an asset to us, even if he has given up the ability to duel."

"He is not even Chinese!"

"His origin is of little consequence. Hide him if you wish. His knowledge must remain within the organization. That is my only command for you." The name Tain Han meant nothing to Bryan, but obviously Lien Yu didn't like the guy. Either he was new, or he'd been useless to Lien Yu for a while. The Overlord saw something in him worth keeping, though.

Ren's anxiety finally bubbled over. "Sir, wouldn't you like to hear our reports on the other god cards?"

"I've already heard from Joker."

"Due respect, sir," Ren replied in a way that meant he had no respect for the Overlord, "Joker didn't battle them. Our opinions may carry more weight."

"He suggested the only remaining opponent worth pursuit is Joseph Titus. Do you think he would do well in the organization? He would join your branch."

Ren had a bit of a smile on his face now. He obviously liked having the spotlight. "If he does not duel against me next, he may live to be a candidate. He obviously has the influence to evade drug trafficking charges, and coffee is a wealthy man's industry. If he survives another round and is willing to relinquish his god cards to me, then perhaps he may be worth recruiting."

"He will relinquish the cards to Joker," the Overlord announced.

"Of course, sir."

"If I may," Eldar spoke. He waited until the Overlord gave him permission to speak. "We have no guarantee children here will be easy defeats. Each has minimum one international tournament and completed first duel here. Maybe they are worth recruitment."

"Perhaps. Approach whomever you wish and provide me with a report tomorrow. Offer all relinquished god cards to Joker. Remember to assess your compatibility with the god cards you win before using them blindly. If their power doesn't resonate with yours, you will suffer for it. Does everyone know the story of the citadel in which you currently duel?" Scowls instantly formed over everyone's faces except Eldar's, who grinned instead.

"We know the gist," Ren groaned.

"Tsar Sanjan spent hundreds of lives trying to open a gate into the Collective Conscious using the Northern Lights as a catalyst. His efforts caused a rift that allowed powerful wills to reject the Collective in order to maintain their identities. As more wills rejected the Collective and retreated to the underworld, they merged in their mutual enmity and took on animalistic forms—the Earthbound Immortals. But as more wills reject the Collective, their power grows unstable. The tournament in which you now participate is a ritual described in the Ars Arcanum to close the rift."

Ren asked the phone, "Wouldn't leaving the rift open mean we can directly access the Collective Conscious?"

"Humans cannot enter the Collective."

"Has anyone ever tried?"

"Yes. The body instantly vaporizes and the spirit is absorbed. The ritual will close the rift. Any final business before we conclude?"

Ingrid asked, "When should we expect to see the Joker?" Bryan was curious about that, too.

"He is already there."

Suddenly a tall, thin man stepped forward. He wore a tight, white bodysuit-type getup plus black snow boots and a J printed over his facemask. It was like his whole outfit was fashioned from one big, skintight sock. His face was completely covered. But he had been standing directly beside Bryan's hiding spot! Fortunately Bryan's instinct was to freeze and hold his breath, but how could the man not see him right there? Was the guy blind? Bryan felt inattentive at the moment for not noticing him, either. The white clothes obviously helped him blend in with the cold stone and the frozen landscape, and Bryan's focus on the Hellfire Club meeting kept his mind busy, but shouldn't Bryan have noticed his body heat or something?

The others seemed a little fidgety when Joker walked in, except for Ren Bacon. He almost seemed excited up to the point where he tensed intentionally. "If Joker was already here, then he can share some insight on the rest of our opponents?"

"You may ask the Joker to offer his opinion, but chance will determine your opponent in the moment, and you will not have time to adjust your decks in those moments. If you saw a strategy in your opponents, create a side deck for quick exchange. Meeting adjourned. Expect my call again in twenty-four hours."

Lien Yu made no secret of his desire to leave as he stormed straight out of the room. Bryan ducked down and hoped with the snow that accumulated on his coat he looked like a pile of rubble. Ingrid accepted a helping hand from Eldar as they also made their way past Bryan without noticing him. Ren stayed behind, rubbing his arms as he stared at the Joker's motionless form. When he was sure the Hearts, Clubs, and Diamonds families were gone, he asked the Joker, "Does he suspect you?"

"No." The Joker had a surprisingly normal voice considering the fear he inspired, and that he was walking around blind-folded by a faceless mask.

Ren let out an excited hoot. "Soon enough, I'll be powerful enough to topple the Overlord and claim the position for myself! Then I'll be responsible for overseeing the entire Hellfire Club, with all the riches and glory at my fingertips. And I even have one of those Earthbound Immortals now." The Joker remained silent as Ren toyed with his own thoughts.

"Do you suppose it might be wise to leave the rift open up there?"

"I don't understand."

"He said the Earthbound Immortals grow stronger as more people die. What if we left the rift alone and allowed them to continue absorbing dead people? We could even use the influence of Hellfire to start a few wars and speed up the process."

"The rift is unstable. The Collective Conscious actively battles the Earthbound Immortals to absorb them."

"You're telling me the Shadow Realm doesn't approve of an Earth Realm fighting back?" Ren joked.

"The so-called Shadow Realm is only the human perspective of a portion of the Collective's power. Spiritual energy does not belong in the Earth Realm, as you call it. The pressure forces spiritual energy out of this realm and into the Collective. Think of this situation as a dispersal of compressed particles into the air. It is unnatural for the particles to collect in a compressed space when there is space with low pressure above it. By failing to close the rift, you allow the pressure to build until it crushes all life in this realm simply because a few dead souls still possess such independence they fear the Collective Consciousness."

Ren's expression changed to a frown. "Hmm. That does sound like a downpour on my aspirations. First things first. What did you get from watching those other duelists?"

"Joseph Titus wields Nordic cards with the ease of a poker player, but he is only the second biggest threat. His superior comes from Duel Academy."

Ren clenched a fist. "Those kids are always a pain. But the only thing more important to me than holding god cards with more power is having all the god cards so no one can stand against me. I'll complete the Overlord's ritual and close that rift to the higher planes. And then I'll take all the god cards and destroy the Overlord with their power. You'll immediately hand over any god cards that someone else gives you?"

"No one will turn over their god cards," the Joker replied. Something in the way he said "god cards" sounded familiar to Bryan, but he couldn't identify the tone of voice. "These duelists have strong wills—too strong to quit just for the opportunity to join the organization. All god cards must be obtained through the most traditional of rituals: a duel."

"Fine by me. I don't care how powerful they get, no Earthbound Immortal can stand against Obelisk the Tormentor. This tournament is mine." He laughed wildly into the sky. When he finally got up and made his way toward the exit, he commented, "Maybe when I have all the god cards, I'll be able to control _real_ Hellfire. I hate being so cold."

Bryan held perfectly still as the King of Spades hurried off to find warmth and shelter. He had hoped to wait quietly until the Joker left as well, but the man in white just stood there until the sounds of Ren's footsteps disappeared under the howl of the wind outside. Without moving, Joker said loudly enough for Bryan to hear, "You should return to your housing. Hypothermia sets in quickly here."

"I knew you must have noticed me," Bryan claimed as he stood up. He felt colder by exposing more of his body to the air, but at least now he was moving around and could shake the snow off his coat. "Why let me go?"

"You've heard nothing to jeopardize the organization. Your testimony alone can't even prove its existence. However, I think you also want to close the rift below us to prevent the cataclysm."

"How bad are we talking?" Bryan asked.

"The impending cataclysm goes beyond the earthbound realm. If the planar divisions are not restored, then the human realm, the Shadow Realm, and the overworld will converge and cause a total collapse of life."

"That's pretty bad. How do you know about it?"

"This prophecy has existed for centuries. Only recently did we discover a way to prevent its reality. The only remaining problem regarding the ritual's completion is the absence of three more god cards: The Wicked Dreadroot, Slifer the Sky Dragon, and The Winged Dragon of Ra. They must be found in order for the ritual to end successfully."

Bryan nodded, not sure how he could help. "I don't know where they are. I can try to get word to Duel Academy about that. Maybe they'll be able to help."

"The organization's members are also looking. Perhaps together we can locate the cards before it's too late."

"How much time do we have?"

"Unknown. Return to your quarters and get some sleep. When you awaken, focus on the ritual before you. Your role is necessary."

"You expect me to sleep after being told the universe is about to implode?"

Joker still hadn't moved an inch. "If only our end would be that smooth."

* * *

_That chapter was tough to start but a lot of fun to finish! That revved me up for the next few chapters. We've got the heart of the story out in the open now. Each following chapter will now focus on answering the multitude of questions that remain on the subject of the Great Cataclysm. The next chapter will be one more break from dueling as Rory watches Haley disappear into thin air late at night at Duel Academy. Following that will be the next series of god duels._

_**Trivia:** At one point, I considered putting this arc in a classroom-type setting like Season 4 of House, MD. That's how long ago I was working on this part of the story. Needless to say, it seemed impossible for me to make that work, so I went with the tried-and-true tournament setup instead._


	10. A Dying World

Chapter 10: A Dying World

{how is it? cold as you thought?}

{Not even close.

{It's way colder.

{I think I might soon lose some extremities.}

{aw, if you were here id warm you up}

Rory closed the neck of her blue jacket as a chill wind blew past her. She was dressed in her Academy outfit, complete with her white, pleated skirt, though she wore spandex pants underneath for added warmth. By contrast, Matt was potentially trapped in ice wearing gear suited for a Jedi visiting Hoth. She could deal with mid-forties temperatures for a few days.

Rory stared at her phone longingly as she wandered along the outer edge of the quad. When she and Matt started dating, they began a tradition of taking a walk at night around the campus hand-in-hand while they talked endlessly. Well, he tended to listen more while she talked, but the important part was that he wasn't there with her. For a few days, he was in the arctic freezing his butt off. She worried about him constantly, and the fact that his texts sometimes took hours to come through meant she spent hours at a time afraid he had become an ice sculpture.

Or that someone might have killed him with a god card. Rory never held a god card, but she heard the multitude of rumors embedded in Duel Academy culture. She always thought they were simple urban legends like every new student did, but the fervor Matt displayed when he told her he had to risk his life in the cold to retrieve them made her wonder if playing cards could really tap into the mythical Shadow Realm. The thought still seemed ridiculous, but it festered in the back of her mind.

A full circuit around the quad was how long it took for the conversation to lead to her boyfriend's twin brother. While she waited for the next message elaborating about whether his twin was real, she bemoaned the 160-character limit on text messages and recalled her last meeting with a Matt look-alike.

_From the corner of the closet-sized dueling space in the basement of the Red Dorm came applause. Rory reacted with a start until she saw Matt sitting up there… wearing a yellow jacket? That was not his typical attire since he had never lived in the Yellow Dorm. And his hair was colored blond, quite convincingly, too. He stood up and walked down the stairs to the floor of the room._

"_That was an effective display of dueling prowess," he suggested. Looking to Rory's roommate Lili, he added, "From both of you. But I wish to request a duel with the winner if she will accept my challenge."_

_While Rory considered why a man she harbored a poorly-hidden crush on would challenge her to a duel near the middle of the night, Lili simply asked, "What happened to your hair? It looks like you took a crayon to it."_

"_I was born like this," he answered. "Well, actually I wasn't born with this much hair or with teeth or with any clothes, but my appearance is based on a purely natural progression of the genetic code with which I was born."_

_Rory wanted to say that didn't sound like something Matt would say, but the truth is it sounded a little bit like him, especially if he were trying to sound pretentious; and he thought it made him sound sexy so he did it with fair frequency when women were around. "Are you feeling okay?"_

"_I feel somewhat awkward," blond Matt answered. "My heart rate has increased since I witnessed the end of your duel. I believe your Cyberdark Dragon is calling me. Figuratively, of course. It's quite impossible for a card spirit to speak on any sort of level interpretable by human ears. It may be possible for you to detect the call of the spirit with suitable study and skill, however. One day, perhaps."_

"_What are you saying?" Lili asked._

"_He's not Matt," Rory concluded. She remembered hearing the rumors others told of Matt's look-alikes. All of them bore a very strong resemblance, although there were subtle differences in appearance and behavior aside from their differing hair colors. This guy used words much more complicated than Matt usually did, and he wasn't even trying to be funny. Plus he was blond. Clearly, this was not Matt. "Is there a better name I can call you?"_

"_My name is Citrinitas."_

{Real twin. Not a clone this time. Check with Cary.}

{good to hear} She assumed he was having Cary check into the twin's validity for him. Last year, she had figured out that Matt had a twin at birth but that he died. Obviously the death certificate was wrong. Now he probably wanted Cary to dig deeper. Rory might be jealous Matt put so much faith in Cary if it weren't obvious that she had better internet search skills.

{Gonna go see him. I'll let you know how it goes.}

{okay sweetie, be safe}

She hated to cease communications, but it was easier to end a conversation that could be resumed the next day than to leave a message hanging overnight. An unanswered message made her worry. Finishing a conversation let her believe he was still alive the whole time. She would finish her current lap around the quad and head back to the dormitory.

The quad was quiet, as was usual in this weather. The air was brisk and frost just barely tipped the grass so early in the night. The only signs of people she saw were the backs of a couple patrolling police officers, two guys wearing backpacks headed back to the dorms from the library, and one girl walking diagonally across the quad away from the dorms. Rory vaguely recognized the girl, but only enough to know she was a senior. As a sophomore, Rory didn't spend a lot of time socializing with seniors, except the one who was engaged to her boyfriend's best friend.

Still, it was odd to see the girl walking _away_ from the dorms at this time of night. The campus did have a curfew that would be in effect within a half hour. When Rory reached the corner of the quad and was just about to pass the stone archway leading to the Blue Mansion's lawn, she took a look back just on a hunch. Hidden behind a spruce tree enough to see without being seen, her suspicions felt confirmed when the black-haired beauty began looking around to see that she wasn't being followed. When the suspicious one felt secure, she disappeared in front of Wilson Hall.

Rory had to rub her eyes and blink a few times to make sure she was still able to see clearly. The girl didn't disappear metaphorically or figuratively: She literally disappeared into thin air in the middle of a grassy field.

"I _have_ to check this out," she said to no one. Matt's blond clone disappeared after her duel with him and she never figured out how. What was this girl's story? The situation intrigued her.

At the end of the quad, nothing seemed out of place. She may not have found the invisible door if not for the footprints in the frost. Where the footprints disappeared, she watched the air carefully. After a full minute, the air shifted, like watching steam rise. Unable to resist, Rory reached out to tap the distorted space with the tip of a fingernail. Moving very slowly in case it turned out to be a black hole that would forever keep a loose appendage, her fingernail disappeared from sight, yet she never felt a pull on her fingers. Beginning with the next step of letting an entire finger get swallowed by the invisible door, Rory stepped out of the Duel Academy quadrangle and into a world she'd never seen.

The sky was no longer blue. The northeast of it was inky black, and from the blackness shone the pale white stars, brightly and steadily. Overhead the sky was a deep red—starless—and the southeast sky grew brighter to a glowing scarlet where, cut by the horizon, lay the huge hull of the sun, deep red and ten times as large as she'd ever seen it. Long gone was the frost-tipped lawn, well-maintained by the Duel Academy grounds staff. The terrain turned to rocks of a harsh reddish color, and the only trace of life Rory could see at first was the intensely green vegetation that covered every projecting point on the rocks' southeastern faces. It was the same rich green color one might see on forest moss or on the lichen in caves: plants that grow in a perpetual twilight. It was a curious sight for a place in the open.

Campus grounds were flooded by rising water levels as if the island had sunk. Rory found herself standing before a wide oceanfront where there used to be lecture halls and dormitories. There were no breakers and no waves without a breath of wind stirring. Only a slight swell rose and fell like a gentle breathing along the surface of the sand, showing that the expanded sea was still moving and living. And along the margin where the water simply licked the land was a thick incrustation of salt, turned pink under the lurid sky.

Never had Rory witnessed such bleak landscapes. There was a sense of oppression in her heart unlike anything ever felt before. It felt as if the environment itself disapproved of her presence.

A harsh scream tore through the still air far away up the desolate slope. Frozen in fear, Rory saw something that resembled a huge white butterfly, slanting and flittering into the sky and, circling, disappear over some ruined buildings beyond. The sound of its voice was so dismal that she shivered and hugged herself tightly as if taking refuge beneath her own skin. With eyes off the horizon and looking around again, Rory saw that one instance of what she had taken to be a reddish mass of rock was moving slowly along the beach. The thing was really a monstrous, crab-like creature as large as a kitchen table, with its many legs moving slowly and uncertainly, its big claws swaying, its long antennae waving and feeling, and its stalked eyes gleaming on either side of its metallic front. Its back was corrugated and ornamented with bulky knobs. She was close enough to see the many joints of its complicated mouth flickering and feeling as it moved.

Frightened by the obscure wildlife dotting this dying world, Rory turned to run back to Duel Academy's chilled campus and dive into her warm bed. But she caught sight of the girl she followed into this place. The girl was only a short distance away, inspecting a fallen ruin that may have once been the Medici Building where visitors found temporary housing on-campus. Curiosity overcame her fear and helped her traverse the rough terrain. Every step she took brought a clunk as rocks tumbled into one another.

The girl heard her coming, and she recognized the intruder. "Rory Borealis?" she said, using the most hated nickname Rory ever received. Maybe "hate" was too strong, but she hated her parents for naming her Aurora.

"How did you get here?" the girl continued.

"Same way as you, I think," she said, trying to appear light-hearted and unfazed. "Um… Where are we?"

The girl scoffed loudly. "Don't you recognize it? This is Duel Academy."

"That's impossible!" Rory's exclamation was reflexive—an automatic response to an outlandish idea that already crept through her mind. She felt a harsh squeeze in her stomach. Calmed, she said, "I'm sorry for the outburst."

The girl's expression never changed. "I was messing with you. I have no idea if this is actually Duel Academy. The only certainty is: This world is on its deathbed."

Despite having someone right next to her as company, Rory never felt so empty and alone. Her mind went into a borderline state of shock, unable to process the words she just heard. "I'm sorry. I followed you here but I don't know your name."

"Serpentina."

"Really?" Suddenly "Aurora" wasn't the worst thing her parents could have named her. "No last name?"

"No."

"That's cool. Like Cher or Madonna."

Serpentina looked at her sideways. "You're nervous."

"I've never been to another world," Rory admitted softly. Saying it out loud untied one of her stomach's knots. She wanted it to be meant as a joke, but the environment bothered her. After all the time spent wondering what happened, the sun hadn't fallen any farther from the horizon. That's when she realized: The earth had stopped turning.

"You know, this place has improved since the first time I visited."

"Improved? Does that mean the same thing to you as it does to me?"

"I think so. When I was here at the beginning of the semester, the red beach was lifeless, save those green lichens, and everywhere was flecked with white. White flakes came whirling down from the sky. The cold here was bitter and chilled straight to the soul. Out there where the sky is pure black, there was a glare of snow under the starlight of the sable sky. The rolling hills back there were pinkish white in this eternal sunset. I could even see fringes of ice along the sea margin, with drifting masses further out, but the main expanse of the ocean was still unfrozen.

"But at midterms last semester, things were significantly bleaker. The darkness was intense and a cold wind blew in freshening gusts constantly, and those showering white flakes in the air were increased in number. The edge of the sea presented little more than a ripple and whisper. Beyond those lifeless sounds the world was silent. Well, words are actually insufficient to convey the sheer stillness of it.

"I foresaw in that moment what would come next. One by one, swiftly, one after the other, the white peaks of the distant hills that looked pink were ready to vanish into blackness. The breeze would rise at minimum to a moaning wind. I foresaw the black central shadow of the eclipse sweeping towards me. In another moment the pale stars would hover in the sky alone. All else would be bleak obscurity. The sky was destined for absolute blackness.

"But something's changed. It's as if the life is returning to this world. Ever since that horrific storm struck Duel Academy last semester, this world has regained something it once lost."

Rory looked around her, drawing only one conclusion about her location. "This world is dying."

"On the contrary, this world is being revived. Maybe even the disappearing students will return."

"Come again?"

"I heard stories," Serpentina explained. "Over the years, several students have disappeared from Duel Academy. No one knows for certain what happened to them. Investigations made public knowledge turned up nothing, and they get dropped over time for various reasons. The most publicly acceptable theory is the students lie at the bottom of the ocean after the water swallowed them up, either intentionally or accidentally. One theory popular among believers in magic is that students have been taken by the Shadow Realm. Who knows what information was censored in the multitude of investigations over the years? I think they stumbled into this world here."

Rory heard about the disappearing students before, though only briefly. "Mitsuro said her brother disappeared from Duel Academy, but she didn't know anything about what happened to him. That's supposedly a big reason for her to start dueling. She wanted access to the school to do her own investigation."

"A lot of people have lost siblings," Serpentina said solemnly. Her sullen voice caught Rory's attention. "I've seen Mitsuro looking around. I don't think she's found this place yet." Rory agreed. Mitsuro probably would have said something if she found an interdimensional doorway.

"Have you seen any sign of anyone?"

"Not yet. But I intend to search this whole place if I have to. It will be tricky due to the rapidly changing ecosystem, but if I can find the cause of this world's revival, maybe he'll be nearby." She hid a smirk as she turned to meet Rory's eyes. "My search could be faster with a second person."

Rory was still hugging herself to fight the bitter cold this world offered. "Honestly, I'm scared and I want very badly to go home."

"Honestly, I wouldn't offer the chance to help me except that you followed me here in the first place. But you're out of luck for a while. The door opens only for a moment and then closes again, not to reopen for a while. You and I are stuck here together at least until morning." She pointed inland and added, "I ended my last search about two hundred yards that way. Either come with me or stay here and wait for the door to open. Just for reference, time moves more slowly in this world."

Another hideous screech filled the air as a second butterfly, or maybe the same one circling back around, flitted through the sky on its way back toward the dying sun. "Eight hours, plus, on this beach? My chances are probably better staying with the girl who survived three trips here. At least I wore comfortable pants. Let's go."

Trekking through the rock-addled terrain, Rory and her guide hadn't traveled more than thirty yards when the air on the ashen beach flickered as if opening again, and a hand appeared in the air like drawing back a curtain.

* * *

_Thanks to **TeamRocketDiva** for contributing Serpentina and **Titanic X** for Mitsuro. This was another fun chapter to write, but writing about a desolate world involved a lot of focus and ended with a somewhat low word count. Apologies for not giving you something long, but I hope you appreciated the richness of it all. In the next chapter, Bryan will face the next godly opponent. Maybe he'll learn something about where the Aesir came from!_

_**Trivia:** TeamRocketDiva originally wanted Hayley/Serpentina to be Bastion Misawa's sister. This story takes place a fair length of time after GX and so that wouldn't work. Even though the Dimension World Arc offered some influence for this particular storyline, I've given it my own twist._


	11. Struck by the Gods

Chapter 11: Struck by the Gods

"The howl of the wind deafens. The chill in the air bites hard. The sheets of falling snow blind. How can winter be an abstract concept when it's so physically vicious?" Bryan always hated English literature and never found a use for poetry, but he had strong feelings about being cold. His feelings were justified: Whiteout conditions were present in Yasna, but that didn't change the schedule for the clash of the god cards. He and Matt forced their way through the tundra, wondering if the snow had actually gotten deeper since they first arrived.

The relief of entering Sanjan's Citadel was tremendous, and yet the thought filled Bryan with visceral anger. The temperature inside the citadel was close to zero on the Fahrenheit scale, and he was happy to have it! Compared with the twenty below outside, he might as well jump in a swimming pool! And that conundrum infuriated him to no end! Suddenly no thought sounded better than walking into the atrium and pummeling everyone there, simply strong-arming them for their god cards and going back home, or at least to Duel Academy where he could hop in the hot springs.

"I think I might not have gotten enough sleep," he confessed to his best friend.

"An hour of dozing while sunlight beamed through the layered curtains straight into your face wasn't sufficient?" Matt replied with heavy sarcasm, also feeling a little grumpy. Neither was going to enjoy dueling with god cards while feeling so groggy. "Maybe luck will favor us and no one else slept well, either."

They entered the heart of the citadel, the location of the dueling stage and looked around. Everyone who was still standing at the end of the previous day's duels were present already, apparently waiting for Bryan and Matt yet again. Ren looked perturbed by the delay, but his features betrayed no indication of sleep deprivation. Contained as he was to hide his nuance and mannerisms, Zeke actually looked more full of life than the average eight-year-old.

"Good morning, guys!" shouted someone who looked remarkably like Garry would if he were taken into witness protection and forced to change his features. He couldn't be Garry, though: This guy had a full, robust beard that would take Bryan weeks to replicate. Plus, Garry was never so vigorous.

"Who the hell are you?" Bryan spoke. It came out sounding more like a statement than a question, indicating he knew the answer but wanted a quick explanation for the changes.

Garry rubbed his chin. "Yeah, my razor wasn't as helpful in this climate as I thought. The extra protection on my face is actually pretty nice, though. I've always been able to grow facial hair quickly. For once, it comes in handy."

"It's been four hours. Are you a yeti?" Bryan hadn't shaved since arriving either, but he only grew enough hair to darken the color of his face. Matt, by contrast, looked the exact same, though he was slightly fuzzy to the touch.

"What? No." Garry narrowed his eyes at Bryan for a moment. "I can't really tell if you're being serious or not. If it makes you feel better, I normally need to shave twice a day or I'll look like another person before the next morning."

"Mission accomplished," Matt assured him.

Bryan grabbed Matt and spun him away from Garry so they could talk without him hearing Bryan say, "I want it."

"His beard?"

"It's glorious! Can you imagine how warm it must be under that thing?"

"Can you imagine how many critters could nest in there without his knowing about it?"

"Even more warmth for me! What are the chances I can steal that mojo from him if I duel against him next?"

Matt smirked. "You're going to send him to the Shadow Realm over a beard?"

"In a heartbeat!"

The dueling stage was set up in the citadel's fallen courtyard. The outer walls remained high, built to last against the erosive force wind and ice offered in conjunction with one another. For the most part, those walls kept the wind away from the duels, though they could do little to stop snow's accumulation with no overhead protection. Remnants of a crumbled lower wall, perhaps cordoning off a garden once, offered narrow space to take cover from the occasional wind that descended upon the duelists. Sadly, the only visual respite from the eternal shades of gray that filled Yasna came from the clothes worn by the visitors.

Except for the Joker. He wore the same white bodysuit he had hours earlier when Bryan spied on a meeting he attended. Whoever the Joker was beneath that mask, he clearly held a high rank in the secretive Hellfire Club, and Bryan was almost certain he'd met the man before. And he was the one who stepped forward and signaled to Bryan that he was part of the first duel.

The guy who stepped up as his opponent figuratively rang a bell, but he couldn't quite figure out where he'd seen that face before. The guy had dark, wispy hair that still managed to look ready to blow in the wind even though he wore a fur hood over most of it. He also used facial hair to keep him warm, but his was a joke next to Garry's. He had a thin mustache that only worked on him because it had the exact dimensions needed to be twice the size of his eyebrows, and it accented the bow-shaped smile he wore.

"Orik!" Matt shouted. He recognized the guy right away. "I thought we'd see you here. After all, you hold all three of the Norse gods, don't you?" By the time Bryan and Matt arrived for the first round, Orik had already dueled and left for a warmer environment. Garry's word was how they knew the Aesir were present at the tournament.

Orik's returned grin was very antagonistic. He was bothered by Matt's words, painless as they were intended. "I'm looking forward to acquiring more god cards," he finally said. "I was disappointed I never got to duel against you in the GX Tournament, Mr. Matthew Luther, Duel Academy Legend." The GX Tournament had been organized on Duel Academy grounds last year as a power grab between Titus Industries and Kaiba Corp. Orik had been a key player on the Titus side, but ultimately Kaiba Corp. came out on top.

"I'm all for offering props when they are earned," Bryan interrupted, "but I would emphasize that right now, I am ranked Number 1 at Duel Academy. Matt here takes a back seat to me."

"Because I let you be first," Matt countered.

"Tell me that again when you're staring down Flame Wingman's flame-soaked arms, yeah?" Bryan figured Garry understood the competitive dynamic between the two Academy students when he laughed at the apparent bickering. But Orik wasn't amused by it. He scoffed, indicating that, if anything, he held even less respect for his next opponent.

Bryan wasn't too worried about this guy. He was good, and his use of the Aesir was fluid, but Justin Nussbaum knocked this guy out of the GX Tournament last year. When Bryan was a freshman, he had joined an elite group of Duel Academy duelists who acted as guardians of the god cards. Justin was a senior in the same group, but as good as he was, Bryan always considered himself to be better. And he'd improved since then. If Justin could beat this guy, he was sure he could, too.

He offered Orik a handshake. "May the best-looking man win. Shall we?" Both turned to approach their respective sides of the large duel station.

Matt stopped him. "Hey. Be careful with this guy."

"I can handle him."

"I have faith in you, but remember Justin's duel with him. He's good, plus Garry said now he has one of those Earthbound Immortals in his deck."

"So do I."

Bryan and Orik loaded up on opposite ends of the dueling stage and set their decks while the platforms rose and the hologram projectors activated. Joker gave Orik the first turn.

"I'll just set one monster."

"A proud start," Bryan mocked. The only reasons for starting with a defensive monster were fear of the opponent or to hide its effect. Orik didn't seem the type to play a defensive game, so it was obviously a monster with a tough effect. Bryan's options were narrow as well. He had no card to remove the monster instantly, leaving him with the options of attacking just to clear the field or mirroring the defensive approach.

"I'll summon Elemental Hero Stratos (4/1800/300)." The first Hero of this duel was the blue-skinned warrior with gyros built into his armored wings. "When he's summoned, I can move Elemental Hero Prisma from my deck to my hand." He searched through his deck for a Hero card and then handed the deck off to Joker to shuffle. When he loaded the deck back into the dueling platform, he attacked. Stratos darted through the air and dropped a half-dozen bombs on Orik's monster—a mammalian quadruped with a canine body and a feline head.

"You destroyed a Hyena (3/1000/300)," Orik explained. Two more copies of the creature came bounding onto the field. "Thanks to that, I summon two more to the field."

"The holograms were a dead giveaway," Bryan remarked. "I appreciate the help, though. I'll just set a card and end my turn."

Bryan 8000: Orik 8000.

"Let's see," Orik said as he drew a card. "I'll summon Guldfaxe of the Nordic Beasts (4/1600/1000)." A black horse with a golden mane streaked onto the field and reared up on its hind legs, whinnying loudly and ferociously. "These three monsters can tune into my ultimate god card: Thor, Lord of the Aesir (10/3500/2800)." Horse whinnies turned Guldfaxe and the Hyenas into a mass of ionic clouds, building until the mass occupied half the field. Swiping once with a gargantuan hammer was a massive, muscular warrior.

"That was quick," Bryan said, referring to Orik's ability to summon Thor on only his second turn.

"This whole duel will be quick," Orik countered. "Thor's hammer will flatten your Elemental Hero Stratos (1800)." Despite the size and obvious weight to the hammer, Thor wielded it as easily as if it were a mere stick. He leaped through the air until he disappeared into the clouds, seemingly pulled upward by the weight of his hammer.

"Hold on, Sparky. I'll play Mirror Gate." A mirror appeared on the field, shifting the image so Stratos appeared to be on Orik's side of the field and Thor on Bryan's side. "This reverses the field if I have an Elemental Hero under attack."

"I'll chain Forbidden Dress!" Thor continued his descent, shattering the mirror as he shot like a missile, plowing Stratos deep into the ground on Bryan's side of the field. Shattering the mirror instantly returned the monsters to their original owners, even though Thor wore a thin, white, silk dress over his body for the moment. "Forbidden Dress reduces Thor's (-2900) attack by 600 points, but now he can't be targeted by Mirror Gate's effect. Now I'll set one card and end my turn." The dress disappeared, and Thor's (+3500) points returned to normal.

Bryan 8000 – 1100 = 6900: Orik 8000.

"That sucked," Bryan confessed. "Well, since I have no monsters now, at least I can summon a Cyber Dragon (5/2100/1600) from my hand." A metallic serpent coiled on the field, ready to strike.

"I'll discard Max 'C.' It lets me draw a card every time you Special Summon during this turn."

"Okay. But since that was a Special Summon, I can also summon Elemental Hero Prisma (4/1700/1000)," a warrior covered from head to toe in prismatic armor. "By sending Neos from my deck to the Graveyard, Prisma takes his name for this turn. And now I'll attack with Cyber Dragon. Why would I attack a stronger monster, you say?"

"No, I don't."

Bryan huffed. "Well, fine. I'm discarding Honest to increase Cyber Dragon's attack points by the same as Thor's."

"Unless I chain Dimensional Prison," Orik replied. "Now your Cyber Dragon gets banished."

Bryan paused for a moment. "Okay. I'll set a card and end my turn."

"I'll summon Vanadis of the Nordic Ascent (4/1200/400)." She was a demonic fairy, wielding a scythe and flitting across the field like a hummingbird with her black wings. "I appreciate the wide-open target."

With a glance across the field, Bryan noted, "He's not wide open. There's another card protecting him."

"And yet it doesn't worry me. I'll play March Towards Ragnarok. For this turn, no effects can possibly work against Thor. So I'm not worried about your face down card." Thor sprang into the sky once again, shooting back to the ground like a missile and rocking the duel station. Prisma shattered on contact. "Now I'll attack with Vanadis."

Bryan 6900 – 1800 – 1200 = 3900: Orik 8000.

Bryan drew his card and took a moment to himself to try to envision how the next few turns would go. He now held a god card in his hand, but not the one with which he was so familiar and comfortable. Earthbound Immortal Ccapac Apu was still new to him. He watched for a moment while the card shimmered hypnotically in his fingertips. He could play it, but not yet. He didn't have the Tributes, and the threat of Thor was still too great. He decided to hold onto Ccapac Apu for a while longer.

"To begin this turn, I'll summon Elemental Hero Neos Alius (4/1900/1300)," a warrior wearing a white, skin-tight outfit and armed with curved blades at the elbow. "Neos Alius is stronger than Vanadis." The warrior dashed across the field and, jumping into the air with a spin, slashed through the demon multiple times before his feet touched the ground. "I'll set one more card and end my turn."

Bryan 3900: Orik 8000 – 700 = 7300.

Orik smiled at the card he drew. "This will be fun. I'll summon Dverg of the Nordic Alfar (1/100/1000), and his effect lets me summon a second monster this turn: another Vanadis of the Nordic Ascent (4/1200/400)." A wispy imp appeared on the field, floating along in front of Thor, anchored down by a ball and chain. Vanadis joined him on the field, swinging her scythe for effect. "Those two monsters will tune to summon Ally of Justice Catastor (5/2200/1200)." The machine formed from the resonating monsters was insectoid in appearance, moving along the ground on bladed legs. "Now let's begin a round of attacks."

"I don't think so," Bryan replied. Flipping his face down cards, he said, "First up is Gemini Spark. With this card, I can offer Neos Alius as a Tribute to destroy Thor, and then I draw one card."

Neos Alius dashed across the field and ran full force in Thor's direction. Despite the effects of the cards, Thor seemed to resist his fate. He swung his mighty hammer overhead with all the strength he could muster, slamming the ground so hard a crack appeared down the length of the duel station itself. The power of the god card gave Thor some life to affect his environment directly and against the rules.

But Neos Alius was not under the hammer. He had exerted a brilliant burst of speed to avoid the strike, though he stumbled from the shockwaves sent through the ground. When he regained his footing, he continued his strike, rushing down the length of Thor's long arms and leaping to his chest piece. There, Neos Alius hovered for a moment as he nearly instantaneously focused all energy in his body into the jewel on his chest and then forced it out rapidly. The outward explosion eliminated Neos Alius and ripped a chunk out of Thor's chest, also disconnecting his right arm as the god face planted. After a moment of agony, he disappeared with a violent eruption of lightning.

"That was more intense than I expected," Bryan remarked to himself. "These god cards really do have minds of their own." He looked at the Neos Alius card with awe as he dropped it in the discard pile. Somehow, that card managed to hold true to its effect despite the power of the gods. Was it due to the extended battle sequences installed in the duel station, or did Neos Alius have another power source that even Thor lacked?

"You've destroyed Thor only temporarily," Orik reminded Bryan, holding his head like he experienced a headache. "I'm going to assume you watched at least one of my duels on video during the GX Tournament, so you know he's coming right back."

"I do." He tried to keep a confident look. He didn't want Orik to know that he was currently unsure of an effective way to defeat Thor for good. He just hoped his deck would give him something. Gemini Spark's effect let him draw Gorz the Emissary of Darkness, but that card wouldn't be enough to stop Thor's revival. It would be possible to allow Thor to attack directly on the next turn and then use Gorz's ability to summon a Token monster with the same attack power as Thor, but the thought of allowing that Norse God to strike him directly bothered Bryan. Orik feigned a friendly face through the whole duel, but his actions bore malice behind them. During the first round, Garry said he mercilessly pounded Ida Guerrero into the ground. Bryan quickly opted against trying that course.

"Good. I still have Catastor (2200) to plant a direct attack on you."

"Not really. That's what this other card is for." He lifted his other face down card. "This one is Hero Blast, and it lets me return an Elemental Hero from my Graveyard to my hand and then destroy a monster on your field if it's weaker than the monster I'm returning. I'm returning Neos, who was sent to the Graveyard by Prisma's effect. He's got 2500 attack points. Catastor's got 2200, so your other monster disappears." The ground beneath Catastor began to glow, softly at first but with rapidly increasing intensity. It took only a moment for Elemental Hero Neos to burst out of the ground right where Catastor was standing, smashing through the center of the machine and causing it to crumble to the ground.

"Now we both have empty fields," Bryan bragged. Sure, he was down in Life Points, but this play felt like he made them even. The feeling gave him a wave of confidence. Plus, he was about to summon a big monster before his turn began.

"During my End Phase," Orik announced, "I can banish a Nordic tuner from my Graveyard to summon Thor, Lord of the Aesir (10/3500/2800) back to my field." Storm clouds brewed heavily, growing more powerful and threatening with each passing second until the force built so great that a bolt of lightning as wide as an oak struck the ground with a brilliant flash! When the light passed, Thor again stood on the ground, quelling the lightning's rage, though with a few stray jolts continuing to strike. One such jolt leapt across the field and tagged Bryan in his place. The shock caused all his muscles to tense instantaneously. His heart squeezed erratically inside his chest. The combination briefly drained his muscles of adequate blood flow, and he crumpled to the platform.

"Only a side effect of the real god cards can do all that," Bryan uttered. He had goose bumps and sweats at the same time. It was the first time he felt an electrical current through his body since he tried the javelin through in his yard and hit an underground power line. But the effect was different from when he was attacked by any of the Shadow gods. Thor's power was something different, but just as deadly.

"Where did you get that card?" Bryan grunted.

"A box of Cracker Jacks." Obviously Orik wasn't going to answer the question. He continued to end his turn: "When Thor is summoned by his effect, you take 800 points of damage."

"I know," Bryan said. "I saw the videos. You hit me with Effect Damage, so now I can summon Gorz the Emissary of Darkness (7/2700/2500) straight from my hand, and he'll deal the same damage right back to you." The fiendish warrior Bryan summoned wore black armor with bladed gauntlets. In the darkness of the storm, his most prominent feature was his blood red hair. He pulled from his backside a sword as big as he was, swung it into the dirt, and released a beam of energy that shot across the field in an arc and slammed directly into Orik and the tiny avatar on the field meant to represent his Life Points.

Bryan 3900 – 800 = 3100: Orik 7300 – 800 = 6500.

"Now it's my turn," Bryan said. He lifted a card from his deck, and a wave of relief took him. "This will help with Thor," he realized. Suddenly he felt a pull toward Ccapac Apu. Somehow, this felt like the right moment to bring his god card to the field. And he knew how he'd do it.

"Here we go. I'll activate Fusion Gate, and the rhyme there was unintentional." The storm swirled and grew darker—energy drawn into the center of the field like a vortex—and the ground flashed with a neon green grid as if turning the field into a computer game. "Banishing Elemental Hero Neos and Earthbound Immortal Ccapac Apu, I can fuse the two of them into Elemental Hero Escuridao (8/+2700/2000)." A brand new Hero to followers of Bryan's duels, this one appeared at first to be an amorphous mass of shadow energy, slowly building into a slender body like a man with wiry wings. His hands sharpened at the fingers into formidable claws. Shadows dripped from his body and wisped into the air.

"You finally drew your god card and you waste it fusing with a Hero card? That's how you spoiled Uria during the last duel."

"And look how that turned out," Bryan replied.

"It doesn't matter. You can't get past Thor. Do somehow, and he'll just come back to stomp you again."

"If I tried to destroy him, that would be true. But that wasn't my plan. I plan to bounce him back into your hand with Neo-Spacian Grand Mole (3/900/300)." His monster was a plump rodent with intimidating claws and a mechanical drill implanted around his head. The drill spun, and then it opened and refitted as shoulder guards.

Grand Mole closed the drill again, initiated the spin, and then leaped into the air, spinning his body with the drill. Thor tried to resist: He swatted his hammer at Grand Mole. Indestructible though it was, the hammer did not crush the attacker. The aim was slightly off, and Grand Mole glanced off the hammer's head, similarly indestructible. With Thor's face so much closer after the lunging strike, Grand Mole drilled into the god, but instead of destruction, but monsters disappeared from the field.

Bryan took his card back into his hand. "And now my other monsters can attack directly." Gorz (2700) drew his mighty sword. With a quick dash, he stood in front of Orik and jumped high into the air, bringing his sword back down on top of the field's avatar of Orik.

As Escuridao (2700) prepared for attack, Bryan tried to organize his thoughts. It could be tough to dictate the moves of a god card. He wanted Orik to feel this attack, but he didn't want to incapacitate the guy. Escuridao's right hand continued to build into three blades angled in to focus a strike enough to pierce even the strongest of armor. The Hero simply planted his feet and reached, and his arm extended in liquid shadow until it reached past the avatar and pierced Orik's ribs. Orik lurched forward and clutched his chest. He was still conscious and alert, but his breathing was shallow and he appeared to be in pain. Bryan had seen that kind of look after he blindside tackled guys on the football field, being the big guy he is. That was exactly the effect he wanted to inflict on his opponent. Bryan looked to Escuridao and felt the confidence coming from his Hero. Perhaps intention was the key to attacking with the god cards. Was it the same with Neo Alius and Grand Mole?

Bryan 3100: Orik 6500 – 2700 – 2700 = 1100.

As Orik slowly pushed himself through the pain and found his feet, Bryan offered a smirk. "Did that feel like I spoiled my Earthbound Immortal?"

"All you've done by fusing your god with a normal monster is make him mortal," Orik remarked. "Escuridao is useless compared with a real Earthbound Immortal!" He drew and slapped down a card. "I'll play Tribute to the Doomed. By discarding a card, Escuridao is destroyed." He held his card for Bryan to see momentarily. The card didn't look special from a distance, but Bryan could see an Earthbound Immortal in Orik's hand as he dropped it toward the Graveyard. Thin black straps sprang from the ground and pulled Escuridao from the field straight into the Graveyard.

"You hate what I've done to my god that much? Fusing it with a regular monster makes it more relatable and definitely easier to support."

"Gods should remain separate from the affairs of humans and their card avatars," Orik insisted. He slapped down a card and watched with excitement as his Graveyard opened. "Monster Reborn brings Earthbound Immortal Aslla Piscu (10/2500/2500) back to the field!"

The ground of the stadium shook with such violence that Bryan was thrown to his butt. He knew the power of Orik's Earthbound Immortal must be intense for it to shake the entire duel station. But then he noticed that everyone else had fallen to the ground, too. Matt and Garry each hugged the snow. Ren Bacon barely managed to crawl out of the way when one of the ruined walls came down on him. Actually, he may have been bounced out of the way by sheer luck. The stones of the entire citadel rattled and cracked under the unseen force coming from the field. Clinging tightly to the metal, Bryan looked up to get a better view.

Orik was still on his feet, pulled toward the field as the face of a giant, dark hummingbird peeked out onto the field. Aslla Piscu's beak reached toward Orik. Thin black wings shot from the ground and circled around behind Orik, creating a dome from which he would be unable to escape. Those wings were what drew Escuridao into the Graveyard, and now they were after Orik. Bryan realized the source of his unease. It took him back to a fact he learned during freshman year when he first met the guardians of the god cards, the same group of people of which Justin had been part before he beat Orik last year.

* * *

"_You've got to be kidding me," Bryan said. "You've got control over one of the most powerful cards in the entire friggin' game?"_

"_Yes," Dave said. He pulled out his deck and showed the trio his shiny red card. He handed it to Matt first because he was closer. Surprisingly, the card's red background began to shimmer dimly as he held it. Dave noticed but didn't say anything about it._

"_Slifer the Sky Dragon," Matt read. "I know this card is supposed to be special, but remind me what the big deal is. And not the effect; I can read that on the card, so I already know it's potentially really powerful."_

_Cary quickly responded to his request. "The story goes that Yugi Mutou and Seto Kaiba fought over the god cards constantly because of their power. There's also a rumor that they tap into dark magic and can be harmful to anyone who loses a duel to one."_

"_Sounds pretty spooky when you leave out the part where they're playing cards," Bryan commented mockingly._

_Dave chuckled. "Yes, well, someone was still enough afraid of them to seal them in Egypt. Unfortunately, tomb robbers found them and used them for criminal gain in the world of dueling. Cheating, et cetera. Seto Kaiba was the one who found them and collected them once again… yet another of his returns to dueling. After he collected the god cards again, he retired from dueling for the last time. He sent the cards to this campus because we're technically a subdivision of Kaiba Corp., it's a good way to teach talented young duelists about the strongest cards in history, and Seto Kaiba knew the cards would be well protected when given to the strongest duelists."_

_Matt nodded and looked around. "So there are six Egyptian God Cards then?"_

"_No," Cary answered. "There are three: the one Dave has, the one Andy has, and one more. The other three people have the Sacred Beasts. They were an attempt to remake the Egyptian God Cards for common play, but somehow they started to tap into the same darkness."_

"_More urban legend," Bryan insisted. "I totally want to join."_

"_You won't likely be able to. No freshman has ever gained membership. Before you even get to duel one of us, you have to be screened. Not like a drug test or personality test or anything, but the cards only respond to certain people. If you can't make the card shine, you can't use it."_

_Cary asked, "What does that mean? What does it take to make one of those cards shine?"_

"_Nothing special. You just have to hold it and see if it shines. Other than that, there's nothing you can or can't do about it."_

_Bryan made a face and said, "That sounds ridiculous. How does a card shine without a flashlight or a fire?"_

"_That's exactly why everyone believes they're magic."_

* * *

That's exactly what was happening now. When Orik held Aslla Piscu in his hand, it didn't shine.

But a moment later, the beak of the hummingbird pierced Orik in the same place as when Escuridao attacked. Instantly the darkness expanded from his wound. The Earthbound Immortal's head exploded in shadows, all swarming Orik's body. His body became sheer shadow. Complete silence fell over the citadel when Aslla Piscu disappeared and Orik fell backward off the platform. No one was sure how badly the Earthbound Immortal affected Orik, but he fell and landed on his neck with his knees next to his ears.

The Life Point meter on the duel station shut down, and the screen displayed Bryan as the winner. Orik lost the duel automatically because he left the platform. He lost everything because he tried to summon a god card he couldn't control.

* * *

_Author's ramblings:_

_If you haven't already come to the conclusion, the next chapter will show that Orik only held one Aesir card for these proceedings. Another member of the Titus Industries dueling squad will get a chance to add to his collection, with Titus himself waiting for one more chapter. I didn't end up revealing anything about the origin of the Aesir in this chapter like I said I would. The flow of the chapter changed my mind. It will probably happen in the second chapter after this one._

_**Trivia: **I introduced the point about god cards being fickle servants (see the flashback), but this is the first time I showed a character unable to use one of them. Also, in case you haven't read the first arc of this story, Dave refers to six god cards because no one knew about the Wicked Gods until the second arc, the Aesir until the fourth arc, or the Earthbound Immortals until this arc._


	12. A Friendly Exchange

Chapter 12: A Friendly Exchange

Matt and Garry were both awestruck at the sight of a man's body bending in ways unnatural for joints to move. Orik's death was unexpected and terribly misfortunate, and it would cast a much heavier pall on this tournament if anyone beyond the citadel even knew about it. Matt couldn't imagine the shock Bryan experienced from witnessing the event with the best view of anyone present. He hadn't twitched even when the duelist stage lowered him back to the ground.

Garry's mind wasn't far from the other participants. "Do you think this will delay the tournament?"

Joseph Titus hadn't been seen since his first round duel. He was the only one who really knew Orik. But even if no one was close to Orik, Matt knew there had to be some show of respect for the dearly departed. "Surely they won't just toss his body aside into the snow." The guards lifted Orik by his arms and feet, however, and simply dropped him back behind the duel stadium, leaving him in the open where the snow slowly piled up on his body. "Hmm. That action seems to contradict what I just said."

After dropping Orik's body, one of the guards rifled through his deck until he found the two god cards, which he promptly handed to Bryan. Bryan accepted them reluctantly. He was so shaken he stumbled on his way to rejoin Matt and Garry.

"Dude? These people are some cold motherfuckers." He was referring to their nonchalance when faced with a dead duelist.

"Yeah. I've almost changed my mind about whether the benefit here outweighs the risk."

Garry argued, "Not me. We already knew this could happen."

"To be fair," Matt said, "when I initially spoke of dying, I really meant the Shadow Realm. I have a tendency to use my words loosely. It's ironic considering I also talk back to people who don't use words with their intended meanings, but we all have our little quirks."

The Joker indicated at that point the next two duelists: The last duelist who defeated Matt, and Matt's new twin brother. With Iñaki pitted against Zeke, Bryan could only be more excited if he were at a beach and not in a ruined citadel with a recently dead body. Everyone's eye was going to be on whether these two duelists could adequately control the god cards they took in the first round.

"This should be good," Garry said. Having lost to Matt once before, he was eager to see how Iñaki would perform against a brother who claimed he was better than Matt. A clash between two people better than Matt could earn a pretty penny from the students at Duel Academy Matt embarrassed in his first two years.

Zeke and Iñaki met for a quick handshake before loading up. "I've heard good things about you," Zeke said.

"You look just like Matt," Iñaki replied.

"Make no mistake: Matt looks like I do. I'm the older one."

"Oh, okay. You know, I beat Matt in a tournament in año último."

"I'm not worried. My brother is nowhere near my level. I'd be bored dueling against anyone who couldn't beat him."

Iñaki chuckled. "Sounds good, friend. We will have a good duel, then. I promise not to let my god cards hurt you much."

Zeke nodded. "I also promise to protect you as well as I can."

With that friendly agreement, both duelists stepped onto the platforms and rose to their positions above the dueling field. Joker stood directly beside the field to act as judge and intermediary as needed. He gave Iñaki the first turn.

"I set one card and end my turn."

Zeke looked unimpressed. "You beat Matt with this simplistic strategy? I'll summon Daeva – Saurva (3/1800/1000) and clear your field." A man appeared on the field wearing expensive but ancient-looking silks. An orange shirt covered blue undergarments, which pulled over his shoulder to create the effect of half a cape. He carried a single short sword, sheathed, in his left hand. At Zeke's unspoken command, Saurva held the sword in front of him and took the hilt with his right hand. He held the position for a moment until he shifted slightly and blinded everyone with a flash of steel. By the time everyone's eyes adjusted so they could see the field, Iñaki's monster—a tall, gray slab of stone—was split in half.

"Impresionante," Iñaki replied. "Instant destruction?"

"Of monsters in defense position," Zeke agreed. "All monsters, actually. If you had an army of monsters in defense position, he would slash right through all of them, even if they were especially defensive like Spirit Reaper or Marshmallon. In fact, there's nothing Saurva can't cut through—only things that are more difficult to cut through."

"Okay, okay. Well, you destroyed Naturia Cliff (4/1500/1000), and I can play another one." A second rock wall appeared on the field, sitting in front of Iñaki as a defensive barrier.

Zeke just nodded. "Decent start. I'm still annoyed by all the defensive monsters, but I'm sure you'll change that up in the next turn, right? I'll just set a Trap and end my turn."

Iñaki 8000: Zeke 8000.

"Aquí vamos!" Iñaki said excitedly. "I use Naturia Cliff as a Tribute to summon Naturia Bamboo Shoot (5/2000/2000)." A small patch of sod sprouted on the field, producing a cartoonish bamboo shoot with large, purple eyes and a small mouth. "Also, I play Naturia Stinkbug (3/200/500) because Cliff left the field." Unintimidating in stature, the second monster was even smaller than the bamboo shoot—nothing more than a green stinkbug. "Now, attack Saurva with Bamboo Shoot and then you with Stinkbug." He rightfully showed no concern for Zeke's face down card. Bamboo Shoot squeezed its eyes shut and pushed hard into the ground until more shoots exploded from its body, flying through the air like arrows piercing the skilled swordsman. After that, Stinkbug hopped across the field—slowly, due to its size but with extra-proportional distance. Within four hops, it was right in front of Zeke's field avatar. Instead of a grandiose attack, Stinkbug produced a visible cloud of gas.

"How apropos," Zeke remarked. The duel station even produced a foul stench to add effect to Stinkbug's attack. "And I've noticed that many of those little bamboo shoots have covered my Spell and Trap cards."

Iñaki chuckled. "Is a nice effect, sí? Bamboo Shoot was summoned by Naturia monster, so you cannot use Spell or Trap cards."

Iñaki 8000: Zeke 8000 – 200 – 200 = 7600.

"Sure is nice," Zeke agreed. He took a moment to look over his hand. Unfortunately, as long as Bamboo Shoot was on the field, his options were severely limited. But he had one obvious choice available. "It's my turn to play on the defensive. I'll set one monster."

"That's it?" Iñaki asked playfully. "Is a simplistic strategy, no?"

"Sure. But sometimes you just have to wait until you find that little bit of magic every deck holds."

Iñaki laughed. "I'm kidding. But I do play Naturia Marron (3/1200/700)." This piece of nature resembled a spiny chestnut, still with the cartoonish big eyes like Bamboo Shoot's. "His effect puts Naturia Fruitfly in my Graveyard, and I shuffle Cliff and Cliff back into my deck." He combined the two cards with his deck and handed it to Joker to shuffle before loading it back into the duel station. "Now, Bamboo Shoot attacks again." Another forced expulsion rained more shoots down on Zeke's monster, but the shoots failed to pierce its massive, orange hands.

The monster covering Zeke's field revealed itself as Renge, Gatekeeper of Dark World (4/100/2100). It was a fiendish monster with a body shaped like an enormous tick or mite, except he only had two legs and two arms. His mechanical body made him strong enough to resist the rain of shoots.

"Aw! Good monster," Iñaki moaned. "I move Stinkbug to defense. I set one more card and end my turn."

Iñaki 8000 – 100 = 7900: Zeke 7600.

"All my monsters are good monsters," Zeke remarked. He smiled at Iñaki for a moment as if toying with the idea of toying with his Columbian opponent. "I'll set one more monster and do nothing else for now."

"You're going easy on me," Iñaki said.

"You've blocked my Spells and Traps," Zeke reminded him. "Not a lot else I can do."

"Okay. Buen punto. I use Naturia Forest." A forest of trees grew all around the field, creating a small grove where the other cards rested. Each of the trees was the size of an oak, but each had bubble eyes and a knothole that could be a mouth. "I hope you ready for this: Marron and Stinkbug summon Earthbound Immortal Chacu Challhua (10/2900/2400)." The cries that preceded the emergence of the entity on the field were deafening and sounded almost mournful as they echoed from tree to tree in the forest.

Near where Thor had cracked the stadium during the previous duel, a collision from under the surface formed a small pitfall. The hole burst open when a whale soared through the air as if in water, trailing blue fire behind its tail. This whale was as large as Iñaki's entire side of the field, and it continued its cries across the field. The sound waves struck Zeke hard and real: He might just as soon have put his mp3 player on full volume with buds in his ears.

Matt may have been the only one to notice. Zeke covered his ears, but he did so well after the attack started. He was putting on a little show. It was invisible, but power emanated from his body, collecting in front of him like a shield. He used the power of Angra Mainyu inside him to nullify the effects of Iñaki's god. Matt was certain Iñaki wasn't putting much malicious effort into the attack, but Zeke was entirely unharmed. How much power did he possess?!

"You know Earthbound Immortals," Iñaki said. "Chacu Challhua attacks past monsters. But! Bamboo Shoot will attack it so you don't feel bad." Bamboo Shoot released a third burst of attack shoots that struck Zeke's monster and revealed it as the fiendish Newdoria (4/1200/800), a monster afflicted with a life-threatening virus, barely contained within its undead body.

"In case you don't recognize that old card," Zeke explained, "Newdoria destroys any monster on the field when he's destroyed in battle."

"Oh, man. Good thing I already attack with Chacu Challhua."

"Don't worry about that," Zeke told him. "I'm destroying Bamboo Shoot." When the shoots pierced Newdoria's skin, his body swelled until it burst. Chacu Challhua was safe, flying overhead, but Bamboo Shoot was soaked in Newdoria's blood. Rapidly, the botanical body withered and crumbled as the virus consumed the bamboo resources. "You see, a god card is actually less threatening to me than a monster that blocks my Spells and Traps."

"Even if the god skips monsters to hit you?"

Iñaki 7900: Zeke 7600 – 2900 = 4700.

"Tricky, sure, but a whole lot more possibilities avail themselves when I can use Spells and Traps. Now, what do you say we find out what I can do now that I have access to my whole hand?" He set a card from his hand. "I'll send Renge to the Graveyard to summon Daeva – Nanghaithya (6/2400/4000)." A chimera-like creature with a humanoid head, a feline body, and a serpent for a tail fell from the sky to the field, landing on all fours with a powerful slam and loosing a mighty roar. Riding on its back was a slender woman, nude though with hair long enough to cover her body. She carried a golden staff capped with a jewel of blood red on the end.

"Wow. She's pretty. You're not going to attack?"

Zeke couldn't help smirking. Iñaki really was a likeable guy. "Why would I want to have such a pretty woman attack a stronger monster? Instead, I'm going to let her sit there until I can make her stronger. You see, as long as Nanghaithya is on the field, you can't attack directly or inflict Direct Damage. So let's see what you've got instead."

Iñaki finally seemed to get a little anxious when he drew. He didn't like the cards in his hand. "I use Reckless Greed." His deck turned into a holographic treasure box, opening wide and spitting out two additional cards. "Más mejor. I use Dverg of the Nordic Alfar (1/100/1000). We saw this before." He didn't want to use names out of respect, but Orik did indeed summon the gnome-like wisp of a monster when he dueled against Bryan. "He can play another: L-josalf? of the Nordic Alfar (4/1400/1200)." The second monster was similar to Dverg, but she looked more elfish than gnomish.

"It's closer to Yo-salf," Zeke explained. "It's a difficult language."

"You speak it?"

"I speak a lot of languages," Zeke confirmed with a nod.

"Cool. Anyway, Yo Salf plays Svartalf of the Nordic Alfar (5/1400/1600)." He had trouble pronouncing that name, too, but honestly, who doesn't? "It's because Svartalf is a lower level than Chacu Challhua."

"Admit it," Zeke requested. "You just really like saying Chacu Challhua."

Iñaki chuckled. "It is a good name. Fun to say. Anyway, I turn all three monsters into Loki, Lord of the Aesir (10/3300/3000)," a tall, lanky monster with a jester-like appearance. He wore flamboyant, silk robes that failed to cover his midriff, hands, and face. His hat may have been his most noticeable feature: A blue and pointy hat, it arched forward the same way a sunflower leans toward the sun. The hat could be alive. And though the entrance wasn't as grand as Chacu Challhua's was, Loki elicited a feeling of uncertainty and oppression. He was definitely a god card.

And Iñaki proved himself strong enough to summon two gods at once.

"You've got an impressive power supply over there," Zeke complimented him.

"Gracias," Iñaki replied.

"Seriously. They're sapping you full force, but you're still going. I can't remember the last time I saw a regular human capable of that."

"Really?" He shook his head. "I don't feel much."

"How long do you think you can keep it up?"

"A while, I think. Loki will attack your naked lady." Loki pointed his arm toward Nanghaithya and pulled his lower three fingers, creating a gun-like shape with his hand. His hat turned to face the exact same trajectory. Energy collected in his fingertip, aimed at Zeke's monster.

"Hang on. I'll play Negate Attack." A wide barrier surrounded Zeke's field, protecting his monsters and oppressing Iñaki's field. Had the barrier continued spreading, Iñaki's Battle Phase would have ended.

But Loki's hat released a stream of energy at the invisible barrier, intercepting it to prevent it from protecting Nanghaithya. "Loki can negate a Trap card, so he still gets to attack."

"Not exactly," Zeke said. "That's only Step 2 of the chain. For Step 3, I'll activate that card you first blocked with Bamboo Shoot. This one is called Divine Wrath. I discard from my hand, and lightning strikes your monster to negate its effect." Just as he described, a thick bolt of red lightning dropped straight down on Loki. The lightning burned his hat off his head, which returned the Negate Attack barrier to full power. Loki's attack dispersed evenly around the barrier, leaving Nanghaithya safe inside. Burned by the heat, Loki's body vanished.

"Oh, wow. You are good. Your brother didn't fight so hard."

"He's still young," Zeke said, perhaps intending it humorously. He wasn't sure.

"At the end of my turn, I can remove Svartalf from the Graveyard to bring Loki back." Just as quickly as he vanished, Loki reappeared on the field, holding a Trap card in his hand. He seemed just as easygoing as before while he performed a few impressive card maneuvers and gave the Trap to Iñaki. Two gods stared down Zeke and neither one gave off much of an intimidating pressure. If Iñaki had a weakness through this tournament, it's that he lacked a killer instinct.

Zeke mused for a moment after he drew, an amused smile drawn across his face the whole time. "I've gotten into this defensive play," he said. "I'll switch Nanghaithya (4000) to defense mode, just because she's strong enough to defend against everything. But! I'll also summon Grinder Golem (8/3000/300)," a mammoth, metallic golem with a giant buzz saw where its head should be, one arm with claws sharp enough to split hairs, and the other arm with a vice clamp. Chains welded to its chest piece flailed with each step, attached to nothing that could restrain the thoroughly-armed golem. That's why the Golem wandered to Iñaki's side of the field. "Well, a monster that big wouldn't get summoned so easily without a drawback. But on the upside, I get two Grinder Tokens (1/0/0)." Two smaller machines, equally deck out in destructive armaments, remained on Zeke's field.

"And now, I'll play Daeva – Indra." A deafening trumpet preceded the proud stamping of a mighty elephant that plodded onto the field. Its head and back were decorated with red and gold, and also with a rider: a stout man with four arms even placed around his ribcage. He wore nothing on his body except jewelry, and he carried a curved krys in each hand.

"Another new card?" Iñaki asked. He studied thousands of cards in his training to become the best of Titus Industries, and he would admit to being unaware of every single card out there, but the Daevas were unfamiliar to him, and in the moment, that was intriguing.

"This one is a Spell," Zeke explained, "with a nasty effect. Watch!" Indra spun 360 degrees around the waist and hurled his blades at Iñaki's field and hand. Two blades landed on the field while two pierced two cards in the hand. The blades in the hand were drawn to the blades on the field, so hard that Naturia Pineapple (2/100/100) and Naturia Pumpkin (4/1400/800) were pulled to the fielded blades. Loki fidgeted uncomfortably with each new monster. "What's wrong there? You think Loki is claustrophobic?" Zeke enjoyed the joke. Indra's elephant trumpeted again and immediately followed by inhaling deeply, pulling Loki straight across the field. Indra and his elephant disappeared afterward.

"To spell it out: This Daeva forces you to summon all monsters in your hand that can be Normal Summoned. The benefit for me is that I can take control of one of your monsters. I've selected your strongest." Loki snickered in response to the reference.

Concern drew across Iñaki's face. "Be careful. We both saw what happens when you use a god you cannot control."

Zeke motioned to Loki with his head. "What do you think? Am I at risk right now?" Loki looked completely at home standing beside the provocative Nanghaithya. "I'm compatible with every god. That's why I'm going to win this tournament." As if to prove Zeke the winner already, Loki pointed his finger at Naturia Pineapple and fired a powerful blast of energy that pierced the cartoonish pineapple and splattered malate acid all over the field. "Well, it's your turn now!"

"Unfortunately," Iñaki admitted, "I cannot draw because I used Reckless Greed. I can put two cards down, though. And then I… Oh, wait. I can't attack because Nang stops direct attacks."

"That's right."

"Aw. I can put Chacu Challhua (2400) into defense mode."

"Don't fret it for too long. I've enjoyed playing the defensive game up until now. It might be fun to shift gears, though. I'll Tribute Loki and both Grinder Tokens to summon The Wicked Avatar (10/0/0)." The three monsters on the field turned to liquid darkness and merged into a planetoid of shadow. At first it was just a sphere, but slowly the liquid reshaped into a large, metallic, thoroughly-armed fiend, black as midnight but identical to Grinder Golem in every other way. Well, _almost_ identical: The Wicked Avatar (+3100/+3100) grew to be even stronger than its otherwise duplicated opponent.

"I remember this card," Iñaki said. "Is impossibly strong one."

"Indeed. Just to pile on a little bit, I'll play Owner's Seal." A bright light flashed through the forest, illuminating all monsters but causing Grinder Golem to shine brilliantly. "All cards on the field go back to their owners now. And yes, that's exactly why I sacrificed Loki to summon Avatar. But your other god card is still immune to attack right now, and I can't get past it, so I'll end my turn for now."

Once again, Iñaki couldn't draw because of Reckless Greed. The issue now was that he had no cards to play and The Wicked Avatar locked his facedown cards in place. Everyone could see the Shadows weighing them down and shorting their connection to the duel station. "I guess is your turn again."

"Thanks. This hand could use some touching up, so I'll play Advanced Draw, and then Tribute Grinder Golem to draw two more cards." The mechanical golem erupted, the force blew two cards from the deck to Zeke's hand. The Wicked Avatar (-3000) shifted its form again, growing bigger and more stout as it layered Shadows as blubber like Chacu Challhua. Zeke looked at his hand for only a second before he smiled. "I've decided that I want to show off my compatibility with the gods again. I'll activate Infernal Transaction." A gargantuan, demonic fist burst out of the middle of the field. The fingers pulled back slowly to reveal Loki, Lord of the Aesir (10/3300/3000). As he bounded back to Iñaki's field, The Wicked Avatar (+3400) took the same shape as Loki—this one composed entirely of Shadow.

"The second effect of Infernal Transaction lets me take a Spell back from the Graveyard. For fun, I'll immediately play Daeva – Indra." For the second time, the stout man on elephant-back came to the field, this time hurling his blades at nothing: Iñaki had no monsters to summon from his hand, but the elephant's trumpet brought Loki under Zeke's control for a second time. "Isn't this fun?" he asked. "Near complete control and not even so much as a wince from me when there are three gods on the field. What do you say to that?"

Iñaki answered, "Is impressive. Can I fight back yet?"

"We'll find out on your turn. I'm going to set one more monster."

Iñaki 7900: Zeke 4700.

"The Shadows are gone from my cards now. So I can put one more card down and move Chacu Challhua (2900) back to attack mode." Chacu Challhua released another series of deafening cries. The shockwaves reverberated around the citadel and brought all observers to their knees in a futile struggle against their own ears. Piles of snow that had built atop the walls and domes of the citadel avalanched to the ground below. Zeke's face down card rose, but even though three women stood in front of his monsters to protect them from attack, the sound waves continued to carry loudly and mournfully.

The instant Chacu Challhua ceased his cries, Zeke removed his hands from his ears. "That was a decent attack," he said. He looked around at all the spectators and commented, "You didn't hit any of them even with a snowball, though. Your god sure doesn't compare to Orik's." Suddenly the jovial look about Iñaki's face faded. Zeke's turned dark. "What? Too soon?"

Iñaki tried to force a friendly smile. "Heeey. That's not right, no?"

"The nice thing about history," Zeke said, "is it's written by the winners." He motioned toward Loki, Lord of the Aesir. "Has Titus told you his dirty little secret? Do you know where the Aesir came from?"

"I have not asked," Iñaki confessed.

"What? You don't want to know where you got that all-powerful card you've been using?"

"It does not bother me. I have my own reasons for helping Mr. Titus. He found my hand for coffee, and since he learned what he needed, my hand has only been for dueling. I know nothing about business or other divisions of his industry. I do these favors for him, and he protects _mi papa_."

Zeke chuckled softly. "Then I won't drag this out any longer." He whipped a card from the top of his deck and placed it on the duel station without even looking at it. "I'll summon Tawrich (3/1800/1000) and flip over Zarich (3/1200/1000)." Two women appeared on the field, very similar in appearance yet with stark contrast. They had similar builds, long hair, and broad wings. ButTawrich's hair was black, her wings charcoal and scaly, and equipped with iron armor around her midsection, head, and limbs. Zarich's hair was ginger, her wings blood red, and she wore very little to cover her body. "These two beauties tune with Nanghaithya (6) to summon Angra Mainyu (12/4000/4000)." A masculine body emerged on the field—unclothed but with skin hardened and red like armor. Four, blood-red wings spread from his shoulders like a segmented cloak. Spines ran from the base of his skull down into a thin tail. Flaming horns erupted from his forehead over his thick, yellow eyes and stern visage.

"I'm sorry, friend, but this duel is over. I hope you've steeled yourself for wherever people go when the gods unleash their wrath." Angra Mainyu rose into the air and hovered for a moment. Suddenly he dashed across the field and slammed his fist into Naturia Pumpkin… _almost_. He stopped his attack short of its target. His fist shook as he withheld the strike. "I've opted to negate the attack. But Angra really hates it when I tell him he can't attack, so…" Angra Mainyu whipped his arm to the side violently. All that pent-up rage, broadened by the strength built for his attack, expanded into a wildfire that consumed the Naturia Forest as if it were the pit of a volcano. Every snowflake that fell overhead evaporated before it entered the citadel. The smoke rose straight up, until the sky was blotted out to the duelists and any floating monsters.

Chacu Challhua plummeted from the cloud of smoke and crashed into the ground, causing powerful shockwaves and leaving a wide crater. Skin blackened and charred, fading slowly as the fires consumed it from tail to snout. Fortunately for Iñaki, keeping his spiritual distance when his gods attacked also protected him from repercussions when his gods were destroyed.

"Earthbound Immortals can't exist without a Field Spell. Now I'll remove Naturia Pumpkin."

Angra Mainyu turned his palms up and they immediately burst into flame. The flames grew larger as they seemed to draw all heat from the room in order to produce greater power. Finally he waved his arms and the flames left his hands. For a moment, everything was still, but slowly the ground turned orange as the platform heated up. The fire exploded from the ground, spraying both sides of the field with ash and debris. And then a second explosion centered on Naturia Pumpkin (1400)! And a third centered on Angra Mainyu! Explosions continued bombarding both sides of the field until it seemed unlikely even the duelists would emerge alive.

"Your Pumpkin is gone, and you suffer damage equal to your monster's attack points," Zeke announced while the smoke cleared and the fires quelled. "Now you have no defense, and I have two gods bearing down on you." Loki (3300) grinned as he charged his finger with another attack, and Avatar (+4100), in the form of a pure-black Angra Mainyu, ignited its arm with black flame. "I'm sorry to have to do this to you, but mercy isn't acceptable here. My brother will find that out soon." Avatar planted his black flame-soaked fist into Iñaki's chest. The arm slid into Iñaki's ribcage and straight through to his back. Iñaki let out a breathless gasp, struggling for air against the black flames burning the oxygen in his lungs. He couldn't feel anything else except the pain of suffocation. He didn't see Loki's attack come right behind, even when it struck him through the forehead.

"These moments will be your only chance to see what Titus is hiding from you. Enjoy it while you survive."

Iñaki 7900 – 1400 – 4100 – 3300 = 0: Zeke 4700.

Joker retrieved the god cards from Iñaki while the guards carried his body to town with the other unconscious victims. Matt watched Zeke accept the cards as if nothing had happened and felt compelled to ask, "Why'd you do it? You two agreed to inflict as little pain as possible."

With one quick glance around the room, Zeke spoke softly, "Trust me here. He is much safer in a coma. Less attention from this crowd is better. Keep that in mind during your duel. Everyone who makes it to the next round may not make it to the next round, if you catch my drift."

* * *

_First, thanks go to **tiramisu19** for contributing Iñaki and today's duel to this story. Having his help with the duel made writing this chapter so much quicker and easier on my part. (The two weeks off were unrelated.)_

_As you'd expect, I'm going to knock out all the Aesir consecutively and let Joseph Titus duel with Odin in the next chapter. That's also when I'll reveal how he came to possess the cards. I'll keep it similar to 5D's, but I've pretty sufficiently strayed from the anime canon by this point, so please don't hate me too much for giving some actual depth to it. I apologize in advance to the true-believers out there._

_**Trivia:** This was the first time I used a solid swear word. As long as I don't use it again, this movie would still be rated PG-13._


	13. The Cataclysm Approaches

Chapter 13: The Cataclysm Approaches

"Do you remember when you came into our hall and accepted my invitation for drink and good cheer?" asked the old man dressed in his decadent white, silk robes marked by his long, velvet mantle.

The response came from a man only slightly younger but with the vigor of a teenager, and the lace outfit of a jester. "I do."

"And do you remember when you boldly claimed that I hand honor to the faint of heart?"

"Of course. You replied that I _mothered_ multiple children here in Midgard. A rather childish and insecure response, yes?"

"My participation in the quarrel was nothing beside the furor you raised among every soul present in the hall. You insulted my wife, you accepted responsibility for the death of my son, you divulged secrets capable of destroying the good spirits of all in Asgard, and you shamed my daughter."

"Your other son offered, unjustly, to hammer my head from my shoulders. His rage is sorely misplaced against me. I offered no untrue information—merely a challenge offering a fleeting opportunity to demonstrate that you reserve the name All-Father."

The old man sighed and faced the valley which they overlooked. They stood at the base of a large tree looking into an army of flaming demons. When they first arrived through the trunk of that tree, a bare-chested man wearing a sorcerer's hat and pants reacted with a start and perceived the two visitors as a threat. He channeled his dark magic into the ground and summoned forth an army of black flames, which took various shapes in preparation for war.

"Would you care to look a second time at this army and evaluate your claim of truthfulness? Our small challenge appears to be overrun by beasts of another realm."

"This challenge was not misinformation," the younger man insisted. "This was simply an ill-timed contest interrupted by magic. But perhaps our fates did not wish a simple show of strength between us. Shall we instead dispatch these foul creatures in succession and compare our totals?"

"These creatures have evoked no need for violence. Fear drives them. If we retaliate, their fears are realized."

"Do not tell me that the mighty Odin, All-Father fears a counting contest. Has your spear dulled so? Hearten yourself with knowledge that these creatures are abominations, borne of the unnatural black flame. The spark of life before your eyes brought them into existence. They are nothing more than bugs beside your mighty power."

Seemingly convinced, Odin replied, "Where is my son? A challenge so simple and destructive is the sort at which he would excel."

"Perhaps the portal within the Yggdrasil was unstable and Thor emerged elsewhere. Or perhaps the sorcerer who summoned these demon flames has caught him in some trap. We should detain and question him."

"Very well, Loki. Let us begin."

Loki rushed down the hill into battle while Odin began with a burst of energy. He spun his spear Gungnir by his side to build kinetic energy and channel it into his left hand, and then he thrust all that collected energy amidst the center of the demon horde, where it exploded with a fiery force that nearly wiped out half the ranks. But the attack left Odin feeling weary, and he could not attempt a second use before the demons engaged. Three leaped into the air over his head and threatened to consume him, but a deft whirling of Gungnir shoved all three bodies aside and catapulted them back down the hill.

The demons seemed to come from nowhere, surrounding the All-Father as if they suspected victory a true possibility. He darted to the nearest and thrust Gungnir inside the demon's body, whipping the weapon back out and using the pole to toss the corpse into other demons. Two approached from behind, and with a quick motion, he stabbed one, and then he swept the pole and then the spear back across the second, piercing its body and spilling its ashen entrails to the ground.

With a snap of the fingers, Odin blasted the air around him with relatively little effort and maximal effect against the swarming horde. But even such a simple tactic exhausted him. He fell to his knees, but with the impending demons upon him, he pushed through the weariness and spun Gungnir around, knocking demons back in all directions. A sudden force caught Gungnir and stopped Odin's momentum, leaving him open to be jumped from the side. He sparked another explosion of the air to destroy the demons swarming him and, despite the new wave of exhaustion, recognized the mighty hammer Mjollnir in the hands of twelve demons moving as one.

"What have you done with Thor?" Odin demanded with a growl. He grabbed Gungnir and hurled it into the sky. As it shot through the clouds, Odin placed his hands together and channeled all the energy of Asgard he could muster. He placed his palms on the ground and dozens of golden binds erupted from the ground, wrapping around the merged demon and tightening it to the ground. Bound in place as it was, the demon was powerless when Gungnir plunged from the sky and pierced its chest straight through. The demon turned to ash and Odin retrieved both Gungnir and Mjollnir.

Loki teleported in beside him and fired a sparkling beam of energy that disintegrated a line of demons. "You look a little tired, 'Old' Father."

"Being away from Asgard appears to be sapping my strength." As if to demonstrate how unimaginable his true power should be, Odin slammed Mjollnir on the ground and created a fissure that opened up the whole of the demon-infested field before him. Several demons leaped to safety but many were crushed beneath the shifting crust.

"Sapped strength, indeed," Loki mocked.

"Where has that sorcerer gone?"

"Probably to find stronger demons he can summon. These will be gone before long. Can you last that long?"

"The All-Father never backs done." Once more, Odin hurled Gungnir into the air. The free hand gave him a chance to spin Mjollnir into the group of demons that nearly struck him from behind. "If you truly view yourself the Master of Mischief, then find that sorcerer. I will dispatch these minions."

"As you wish. I shall return." With that, Loki disappeared again, leaving Odin to finish the remains of the army alone.

Streaking through the sky like an arrow at sonic speeds, the spear Gungnir trailed clouds of the overcast sky as it pierced the snow and rained on the black, clouded form of the Doomsday Token (1/0/0) and extinguished the spark of life deep within the flame. Right by Odin's side, the blue wisp called Ljosalf of the Nordic Alfar (4/1400/1200) whipped its tail at the second Doomsday Token. Coated in blue flame, Ljosalf's tail extinguished the black flame effortlessly.

Odin, Father of the Aesir (10/4000/3500) was pleased to have help in the battle. He had thrown Gungnir for his initial attack, but he held Mjollnir in his hand. It would be a shame not to wage another attack against the young man who summoned the foul creatures. Hurling Mjollnir as he would his own spear, Odin slammed the powerful hammer into the youth, nearly obliterating the machinery protecting him. Satisfied for the moment that his opponent had no further army to stand against him, Odin settled back to catch his breath.

"And that ends my turn," announced Joseph Titus.

Matt 6900 – 4000 = 2900: Titus 8000.

Matt held the back of his head as he recovered from the shockwaves when the Divine Relic Mjollnir slammed into his side of the duel stadium. He was still reeling from the vision of Loki tricking Odin into entering this world even at the risk of losing the power he had when he was home in the Asgard realm. It was sheer luck that guided him into avoiding the flight of Mjollnir that might have taken his head off had he not ducked.

"Was that how the Aesir began in this world?" Matt wondered aloud.

Joseph Titus, his opponent so rich he could buy his way out of drug-smuggling charges, merely scoffed at Matt's question. "It's useless to ask questions. I won't tell you anything."

"I didn't ask you," Matt snapped back. His frustration didn't really come from Titus's desire to remain secretive. It came from Ahura Mazda, his symbiotic spirit, also refusing to provide him with information. He only briefly managed to tap into Ahura Mazda's power, and that enabled him to connect with the power coming from Odin's card. That was how he witnessed Odin's arrival in his world—the spiritual memory of a god arriving from another plane of existence.

"Loki was known for endorsing mischief," Matt noted. "He must have brought the Aesir to this world simply for a laugh. What went wrong?"

"_Odin has more information,"_ echoed the voice of Ahura Mazda. _"His spirit resists my connection. We had to destroy the card in order to witness that first memory. We may not be able to connect again unless we remove Odin from the field."_

"You have a plan to do that?"

"_Yes. Your next card will be Chaos Sorcerer."_

Though it might seem like it, Ahura Mazda was not prophetic. Rather, his touch could influence the future. Through mental focus and intense effort, Matt had learned to use that ability to his benefit. He felt the strength flow to his fingertips more easily than ever before, and sure enough, he lifted Chaos Sorcerer off the top of the deck. A thought flashed through his mind and faded just as quickly, but the one who attacked Odin and Loki greatly resembled the Chaos Sorcerer.

"I'll remove Armageddon Knight and Ryko, Lightsworn Hunter in my Graveyard from play to summon Chaos Sorcerer (6/2300/2000)." A white light and a black light shot from the Graveyard and merged into a man with purple skin, adorned in black mage's robes and channeling the magic of chaos in each hand. When his palms met, the intensity grew with the force that binds the universe. "Once per turn, Chaos Sorcerer can banish one monster on the field." As the black hole in Chaos Sorcerer's hands grew larger, the gravitational force grabbed the biggest thing on the field—Odin—and drew it in. The distortion in gravity made it seem like Odin's body elongated as his head and torso fell into the black hole and his feet stayed behind.

Very slowly, the rest of his body followed. Including his mental defenses walling off his memories.

Matt could once again see the hill where Odin and Loki battled against the demon beneath the so-called Tree of Life. The demons were all vanquished, having transformed the entire, beautiful expanse into a wasteland of ash. Exhausted by his trials and weakened by an unexplained absence of his natural power, Odin gasped for air, fighting the sweet sleep that threatened to take him. He collapsed within the shade, neither dead nor asleep, but unable to move any further.

Within minutes, Loki appeared out of thin air. He dropped something heavy, the size of a bowling ball, beside Odin. "Here you are, All Father. One sorcerer's head, still bloody from the ravages of a war he started with the lords of Asgard."

"Completion of that task took you longer than expected," Odin replied hoarsely.

"I expected only a mere 'thank you,' but I suppose that was hoping a little too highly from the almighty Odin."

"You want thanks? Answer me this. Why is it you continue to flitter back and forth without so much as a gasp while I lie here wheezing like a goat on its dying breaths?"

Loki feigned a look of pity. "You are old. The whole of Midgard is but a toddler to your experience and wisdom."

"Pretty words to suggest that I am no longer capable in battle, yet you will notice no more demons exercise upon this field. I will meet my end when Ragnarok descends upon Asgard. Until then, you will not be so easily rid of me."

"You misunderstand," Loki taunted. "I wish you no ill will. My own role in Ragnarok will have little meaning without you around. The sorcerer's magicks limited your power when we traversed the Yggdrasil to this realm. I keep myself protected by energy wards his magicks failed to penetrate, to my good fortunate. Now that his head lies on the dirt beside you, your power should return in due time. You may rest in place if you see fit."

"I would just as soon return to Asgard." Through great physical effort, Odin climbed to his feet using the spear Gungnir and the hammer Mjollnir as supports while he found his feet.

"And what of Thor?"

"My son can take care of himself, even without the aid of Mjollnir. If need be, I shall return to locate him when my strength once again avails me. Where there is a storm, Thor will not be far behind."

Loki nodded as if to offer a shallow, sarcastic bow. "As you say. The Yggdrasil is primed for our return to Asgard." He waved his hand aside. "After you, 'Old' Father."

Odin slowly climbed the hill and approached the enormous tree trunk. "I would watch my tongue when we arrive, were I you. Frigg will not stand idly while you continue to grate on the nerves of the Aesir."

"Your warning is noted, though my fear of Lady Frigg exceeds only my fear of mites."

With a heavy chuckle, Odin commented, "You haven't married her."

The Yggdrasil was an immense ash tree that connected the nine realms, though one wouldn't know it to look at it. It looked like any above-average ash tree, offering plentiful shade beneath its lush foliage. The portal between realms was hidden amidst the bark, undetectable to any but those of sufficient spiritual energy. Odin searched the cankers and knots along the trunk when he noticed an etching that looked too familiar to be coincidence.

"Loki," he said. His voice was soft and solemn. "Where did you last see Thor?"

He turned just in time to see Loki sprinkle him with his mystical energy. "He never made it out of the portal. He should not have challenged me in Aegir's hall. Those wards I mentioned that protect me inflict my wounds instead upon the Master of Thunder. Perhaps you will remember that next time I am bound by entrails with venom dripping on my face."

Odin's hand lay upon the bark of the Yggdrasil, but his withdrawal through the portal was incomplete. His body took to the bark and left behind etchings in the shape of a miniaturized depiction of him. "Would you like to hear what will happen to you?" Loki asked. "Your spirit will return to Asgard where your power will remain and give life to your hall, but your body will remain within the bark of the Yggdrasil in simultaneous existence in all nine realms."

Matt couldn't believe the scene. The three Nordic Gods that hit Duel Academy late in the previous year were cards based on three physical beings that entered this world from another. It made sense to him, in an obscure way: Such beings may have visited the world on previous occasions. The power they see as natural in their home realm would make them seem as gods to ancient Nordic explorers.

And Loki tricked them. Odin and Thor were trapped within the bark of a great ash tree. Depending on the year, someone would be along soon to turn them into playing cards or to create a series of stories and legends that would eventually spawn several comic books. But what about Loki? He was also made into a card. Surely he didn't trap himself in the trunk of the Yggdrasil with the same spell.

Suddenly a being appeared in the air behind Loki. He wore the pleated bases and tights of a sorcerer, but he removed the sorcerer's hat and curled pauldrons. His bare torso appeared pale grey, but details were obscured to Matt's eye. His first instinct was to clean his own eyes, but then he realized he could never see clearer because he had tapped into the memory of Odin's energy. From inside the tree, Odin was unable to detect clearly the details of the sorcerer who conspired with Loki against him. Loki had clearly lied about removing the sorcerer's head.

"The deed is done," Loki announced to the visitor.

"Excellent performance, Loki," spoke the entity behind him. The voice sounded so distinct and familiar, but Matt couldn't remember where or when he'd heard it before. Was it recent, or was it someone he'd met a long time ago?

"Yours was impressive, as well. Had I known the spells to trap entities within the Yggdrasil, I would have done so to my enemies long ago and saved myself innumerable headaches."

"Rituals capable of sealing godly energies within objects are specialty knowledge that flows throughout my organization. It is how I came to exist in this realm. Without it, any entities crossing the boundaries between realms will weaken and wane."

"Yet with it, the great and mighty kings of Asgard are now sealed in all realms at once."

The mysterious sorcerer nodded. "Yes. Their presence within the Tree will throw the balance of realms into chaos and increase the speed of collision."

Loki cackled giddily. "This truly is a wonderful plan. A collision between all planes of existence will cause a cataclysm from which even the All-Father would be unable to recover. The mere thought of it excites me to no end."

"I would not have thought your own demise would appeal so greatly to you," spoke the mysterious inciter.

"All things end eventually. Fate has chosen the end of my life at the hands of Heimdall, a peasant who merely spends his days guarding the Rainbow Bridge. I should see defiance of my chosen end as the truest act of mischief. Seeing the bloated egos of Odin and Thor brought down to size by the realization that they do not control my fate will provide me infinite glee to carry me into the afterlife."

The grey-skinned sorcerer stepped up behind Loki and placed his hand on Loki's back. "Perhaps you should have a closer look." A burst of fire exploded from his palm and shoved Loki into the trunk of the tree, drawing his body in the same as with Odin and providing a likeness of the jester-like body in the bark. "The three most powerful beings from Asgard will vastly increase the rate at which the cataclysm will occur. But do not worry. The painter should be along shortly. Your spirits will be drawn from Asgard in a series of rituals designed to rain Hellfire upon the world you call Midgard."

Matt watched as the mysterious man opened his palm and produced a wicked, black flame. He clenched his hand immediately into a fist, extinguishing the flame in an instant. "The cataclysm is nigh, and the power to allow it or prevent it lies in my hand alone."

* * *

_This was another of those chapters that I rewrote a few times before finding one acceptable to me. You can only do so many tournaments before you start to get bored of doing brief small talk between matches. This obviously does not end the duel between Matt and Joseph Titus, but it does give a story for how the Aesir were turned into playing cards. Next time, the duel will end for these two, and clues will begin to point Cary toward one of the missing gods._

_**Trivia:** At the time I first outlined this story, there were still only three god cards and three sacred beasts. It probably would have been much easier to leave it that way. I wanted to include all the new ones in decks used by various opponents, but considering they're supposed to be sacred cards, that approach seemed almost blasphemous. In my original plans, the god cards didn't have much of a role past the first two arcs._


	14. The Cataclysm Approaches, Part 2

Chapter 14: The Cataclysm Approaches, Part 2

The impatient words from Joseph Titus brought Matt back to the game. "Is that all you have?"

Visions of the apparent demise of the three Nordic Gods at the hands of a mysterious figure shook Matt and occupied his mind for a time, distracting him from the card duel in front of him. His field contained only Chaos Sorcerer (6/2300/2000), which he had just used to remove Odin from play. With a deep breath to collect himself, Matt recovered his senses and reviewed his hand. No other plays sprung out at him until he reviewed the contents of his Graveyard.

"No, it isn't. I'll return a card from my hand to the deck to summon Plaguespreader Zombie from the Graveyard."

"I can only guess what happens now," Titus mocked. "Eight stars with a tuner on the field?"

"If I'm so predictable, you'll be prepared for this," Matt commented. "These monsters will be Tributes to summon Spenta Mainyu (10/2400/4000)." From the light of the two monsters appeared a transparent being—almost ghostlike. It took the form of a dark-haired woman no bigger or taller than the average humanoid monster card, adorned with a single, blue robe draped over her shoulders and a simple, golden tiara that shone as a halo on her skin.

Matt was amused to see the effect this card's presence had on the men around him. She captivated them with her physical and spiritual allure. Her depiction was gorgeous—even Matt could see that. But he was immune to her appeal because even though they were separate entities, Spenta Mainyu reminded him of his mother.

"Spenta Mainyu comes with the same ability as the Earthbound Gods: She can attack you directly." Spenta Mainyu crossed her hands over her chest and her tiara shimmered. Suddenly a man as tall as the entire duel stage appeared from her shadow. He wore the same robe as the woman who summoned him, but his shoulders, legs, and arms were guarded by golden armor and his face was obscured by his hood. White wings spread wide behind him as he leapt past Spenta Mainyu and slammed directly into the Titus avatar before fading away, leaving the woman on the field alone.

"Now, I'll end my turn."

Matt 2900: Titus 8000 – 2400 = 5600.

Titus could not remove his eye from Spenta Mainyu's enchanting form, try as he might. "It is a shame you have proven too frightened to instruct such a majestic creature to strike me directly. Odin threw a hammer straight at you and could have killed you if it had done more than glance right off you. An attack on my avatar does nothing to me. Mull that over for a while as I continue to come at you full force." He drew a card and did all he could while still entranced: He set a monster and moved Ljosalf of the Nordic Alfar (4/1400/1200) to defense mode.

"Coming at me full force means putting a monster face down," Matt acknowledged sarcastically. "Odin's banishment is unfortunate for your progress in this duel. I'll attack again with Spenta Mainyu." The ever-enchanting woman summoned her wicked shadow a second time to pummel the Titus avatar on the field.

Matt 2900: Titus 5600 – 2400 = 3200.

"Such a delicate creature should not be in the hands of one who would send her to the front lines," Titus declared. "She should be kept behind the lines where she can be admired and not put at risk. I'll flip Gravekeeper's Spy (4/1200/2000) and activate her effect to summon a second." His field produced two dark-haired women with skin reddened by the sun. The black cloaks they wore enabled them to blend almost seamlessly into the field, though only one woman made an effort to hide. The other stood tall, ready for action. "I'll also set one monster and another card."

Matt commented, "You're not bad for a guy who's not looking at his cards when he plays them."

"You must be blind to want to remove your eyes from such a vision."

With a grimace, Matt muttered, "Ick factor. She's as good as my mother." Shaking off the thought, he proceeded with his turn. "I'll use Solar Recharge. I drop one Lightsworn monster from my hand to the Graveyard, and…"

"I'll chain the effect of Effect Veiler." A transparent woman with brilliant wings appeared on the field over Spenta Mainyu for an instant before fading away just as quickly.

Confused, Matt replied, "You'll do what?"

With a confident grin and a deep sigh, Titus answered, "I'll discard Effect Veiler from my hand. Now Spenta Mainyu is devoid of effects during this turn. That means no attacking directly."

"Hmm. Okay. Odd timing for the effect since it actually makes no bearing on my play." His card produced a brilliant flash of light that shocked two additional cards from his deck. "I draw two cards, and then two go straight from my deck to the Graveyard. Nothing here to play right now, so Spenta Mainyu (2400) will attack the Gravekeeper's Spy (1200) you've got in attack mode." The enchanting woman summoned her shadow again, and it lunged across the field right into a glass wall.

"Mirror Force," Titus said with a laugh. "That was the real reason for Effect Veiler. I'm aware that Spenta Mainyu prevents the activation of Spells and Traps when she attacks. With her effects negated, she's powerless to stop it. Mirror Force negates her attack and destroys her!" Shattering the glass wall proved to be a fatal decision when the shards pelted Spenta Mainyu. For a moment, she appeared as a glass porcupine before she bled out and disappeared from the field.

Disappointed in the loss of his monster, Matt said, "I thought you couldn't bear to see such elegance eliminated."

"You put her in harm's way," Titus pointed out. "When I claim her from you, I will never make the same mistake. Are you quite done with your turn?"

"Yes," Matt replied. "I think I'm good for now."

"Bold claim from a man with nothing on his field."

"You don't always have to have your defenses on the field for them to protect you."

"Hand, then. Okay. I'll just have to get rid of it." Titus drew and slapped down a Field Spell. "I'll activate Mystic Plasma Zone, which increases the attack power of all dark monsters by 500 in exchange for a 400-point drop in defense. That is how I will offer the two Gravekeeper's Spies as Tributes to summon Earthbound Immortal Wiraqocha Rasca (10/+600/-0)!"

Mystic Plasma Zone turned the sky dark and built up an electrical storm that made all the short hairs on Matt's neck stand straight up. But even worse was the explosive force brought when the gigantic condor burst onto the field and shook the citadel. Its wings shrouded the field from all outside view, keeping its torso as far from Matt as possible—an effect which increased his sense of claustrophobia on his tiny, little platform looking down a long corridor to a creature threatening to devour him with a single breath. Everything else around him was fuzzy and indistinct as the condor only grew bigger, its power nigh overwhelming. Titus's field clear, Matt's hand gone, and his mind stuck on the god before him, he swallowed hard.

"Well? Come on, then."

Wiraqocha Rasca (+2600/+1700) accepted his challenge by absorbing Titus's two cards and compelling Matt's hand to the Graveyard. With a deafening screech, the condor shot forward down the winged tunnel and pierced Matt's body with its powerful beak. The pain permeated his body in perfect balance, activating equivalent pain in every skin cell of his body and numbing him to every other sensation. Just when his body felt ready to give out, the beak withdrew and the pain dulled. As he slumped to the platform he hugged himself tightly to keep his chest smaller and reduce stress on the muscles in his torso. His throat felt raw. He didn't realize he'd been screaming through the attack.

"Are you going to make it?" Titus asked with a laugh.

Matt 2900 – 2600 = 300: Titus 3200.

Moments like this made Matt regret his leniency. Had he intended for Spenta Mainyu to strike Titus directly instead of striking his avatar, Titus may not have so much strength to throw around. He simply hated the idea of bringing divine pain down on his foes. It seemed like overkill when confronting human opponents.

But Titus wasn't done taunting his weakened opponent. "Do you have any idea what life has given to me? First I make untold sums of money with the good old Columbian racket, then I turn a few images from a tree trunk into Duel Monsters god cards, and now you've got no hand, nothing on the field, and no chance to summon your other god cards. Even if you get Monster Reborn to revive Spenta Mainyu, she can't finish me off, but Wiraqocha Rasca will end you on my next turn either way. All that's left for me is to join the exclusive Hellfire Club and climb my way up." He was infinitely impressed with himself for his good fortune.

"You have enough loyalty from your lackeys to evade drug smuggling charges by having them take the fall for you," Matt pointed out. "How much more power do you need?"

Titus shook his head, disappointed with Matt's ignorance. "If you didn't fear your god cards so much, you would understand. When I was a kid, my family had nothing but a single coffee shop. I built this franchise myself. And I find that the more power I acquire, the more I need. But you'll never understand that. Even with three god cards under your control, the power you wield is nothing. I have two federal judges on my payroll and my own grassroots organization swaying policy never to infringe upon caffeine. That's real power."

Matt took in a deep breath, the first that didn't hurt. He checked his sternum and confirmed that Wiraqocha Rasca's attack didn't physically pierce him. The physical pain was the result of a spiritual attack. But even if he felt strong enough to make a move, what move could he make? Titus was right about the situation. Spenta Mainyu couldn't save him, and he didn't have enough cards to summon Zurvan. Even if he did, he couldn't attack Wiraqocha Rasca. In fact, the only way he could possibly declare an attack is if it were a direct attack. Nothing else could win the duel.

"What else is there?" He knew there must be some way. "Ahura?" No response came. "Don't hide from me, you cowardly spirit! If I die here, you will, too."

"_You will not die,"_ his voice came back. _"I will not allow it. But further participation in this competition will only hasten the approach of the coming cataclysm. My power should never clash with the discarded energies of the Earthbound Immortals. I cannot take further part."_

The way he feared a victory instead of a defeat told Matt one thing: "But you know how to stop Wiraqocha Rasca! Help me! I will not abandon Bryan to this tournament alone!"

But no response came. Once again, Ahura Mazda chose to become silent and watch as events unfolded around him. Matt hated that approach. "If you truly want things to work themselves out, you've got to fight for it!" he grumbled. If only he could manage to force Ahura Mazda's help. Zeke would know how. If only he could ask for guidance.

* * *

_Zeke leaned toward Matt as if to offer comfort. "Here's a little exercise for you to try that Mom and Dad recommended to me when I was seven. Go find a quiet space with a little bit of white noise and just meditate. That hypnogogic phase of consciousness right before you fall asleep is one of the most attuned states your mind will ever be in. That's when you're most likely to see Ahura."_

_Thinking back on how he spent most of his free time during the fall semester, Matt commented, "I've had enough meditation for a while. It didn't work for me. All I figured out eventually is how to use some of Ahura's power to influence what card I draw."_

"_That's helpful. But when you and Ahura become one, you'll already know how the duel will go." Zeke sighed and offered a gentle shrug. "If meditation isn't your thing, what's always helped me is taking a deep breath."_

"_That's it?" Matt asked, giving his twin an incredulous expression._

"_A deep breath when you're stressed can make the world slow down. That can make it easier to hear what your spirit has to say. Of course, it helps if Ahura actually wants to talk, so you could just be out of luck. But seriously, that should be your goal. When you and Ahura Mazda are able to merge even for a moment, you'll see things you've never seen. Spirits abounding, the colors of duel energy, thoughts and emotions tinting the air around people…"_

* * *

"Maybe Zeke already told me," he decided. He looked at the deck, set his fingers on top, and took a long, slow breath.

And everything did slow down.

Everything around him once appeared as a white, snow-covered ruin with shadows interspersed, but now the environment was on a yellowscale and nothing was motionless. Joseph Titus appeared across from him as deep red. Each pump of his heart caused the color in his body to pulsate and the air around him to blacken. The walls of the duel stadium were bright orange with the light of duel energy shooting through them sporadically. Wiraqocha Rasca appeared as one explosion of light after another. The pulsing energy through its wings reminded Matt of an octopus constantly whipping its appendages. Overhead he could see the Shadows seeping into the world, struggling against the Earthbound Immortal's energy in an effort to absorb its spirit into the Shadow Realm. Was this what Zeke saw when he dueled? It was as if Matt could see the very life that flowed through everything around him.

And he understood. He had to impose order on the world around him, to quell the chaos between the Shadows and those who rejected them. The way to win this duel lay with his fourth god card—one that could only come from his resonance with Ahura Mazda. "This is the only card that can bring me a win. Because I have a dozen monsters in my Graveyard, I can summon Sephylon, the Ultimate Timelord (10/4000/4000) without Tributes." He pulled a card from his deck and played it without looking. Ten bright lights appeared on the field in the shape of a prismatic crystal, dimming to show a body resembling a game piece with wings formed from the merged energy of the monster's own light. On its chest was a reflective plate with a clouded image of an elderly man.

The light from Sephylon's wings became great a second time. A heavy, purple haze emerged from the light, forming a new body similar to Sephylon's. The arms were like pieces of pipe attached to enormous claws. Its chest was purple and reflective, appearing to show the image of a human face. "Once per turn, Sephylon summons a companion: This time, it's Metaion, the Timelord (10/+4000/0)."

"I admire your ability to summon a couple of truly impressive monster at a moment's notice, but neither of them will bring you victory here and now. You can't target an Earthbound Immortal, so you can't attack at all."

"Not separately, my monsters won't win," Matt agreed. "But thanks to my friend Lucy, I have a new way for them to work together. When Sephylon and Metaion overlay, I can Xyz Summon a brand new god card: Ahura Mazda (10/3000/2000)." A white light cut through the darkness of the sky and illuminated the entire town outside the limits of the citadel. The brilliance provided warmth so intense that everyone present was again able to feel their toes while the god descended. Ahura Mazda appeared, from the torso up, as an old, bearded man wearing a Persian turban and robes. Below the torso, he was as an eagle, with fierce talons for feet and powerful wings spread from the waist.

Taken aback by the regal presence of this new god, Titus could only stare in awe.

"Xyz monsters are still pretty new, so I can see why this god card would surprise you. By banishing Darklord Superbia (8) from the Graveyard, Ahura Mazda (+3800) gains power equal to 100 times the level of the banished monster. Additionally, if I detach one Xyz material monster and send it to the Graveyard, I can banish another monster from the Graveyard. This time, however, Ahura Mazda gains the effect of that monster." A large, imposing shadow grew behind Ahura Mazda, taking the shape of Spenta Mainyu's own muscular defender. "Together, Spenta Mainyu and Ahura Mazda give me enough power to combat Wiraqocha Rasca and end this duel."

When the giant shadow shifted and took corporeal form like a wild phoenix, Matt said, "Here's what I understand about power. The more you acquire, the more you fear losing it. Believe me when I say that losing is the best thing for you now." The shadow lunged into Titus's chest beak-first, piercing his body spiritually and filling it with a purifying light. The darkness surrounding him vanished instantly, and his energy faded tremendously, restoring him to a neutral, almost rebirthing state.

Matt 300: Titus 3200 – 3800 = 0.

* * *

_A supposedly rare Duel Monsters card stolen from a 14-year-old boy who hoped to use it for his college education turned out to be a replica worth $10 at the most, investigators say._

_The stolen card, thought to be the 2000 Slifer the Sky Dragon god card worth more than $1,000,000, lacked the Industrial Illusions stamp that would have shown it was an original, said Detective Phil White of the Contra Costa County Sheriff's Department. "We determined the stolen card was not an original," White said._

_The boy, who still hasn't recovered the stolen card, was shown a replica Tuesday and said it was "exactly the same card stolen from him," White said._

_"Up until yesterday we had no way of determining if the card was authentic or a replica," White said. "We didn't even know a replica existed, not being specialists in that field. We had nothing to compare it with."_

The difficulty with tracking down a missing god card was its fame. Everyone knew about Slifer the Sky Dragon. Everyone wanted it. As soon as it left Academy Island, it became a target for every thief from the garden variety school kid to the professional Rare Hunter. How the cards escaped Academy Island was the biggest mystery of all, but somehow Slifer ended up in the hands of a fourteen-year-old who made the mistake of showing it off during a duel with his friends. The very next day, his room was ransacked and the card was stolen.

Now investigators were coming to the conclusion that the card stolen from him was a fake. It easily could have been a fake, because the kid never played Slifer through electronic means, which was the only guaranteed way to verify its veracity. The special Industrial Illusions code in the card was the only code Kaiba Corp. technology responded to when making a three-dimensional rendering of the famed Egyptian God monster.

But if that card wasn't the real one, then Cary was on to evaluate the next claim:

_Some rare vintage Duel Monsters cards stolen from a home in upstate New York this winter remain missing and now a $10,000 reward has been offered for information leading to the arrest and conviction of those responsible._

_New York State Police say the burglary occurred at a home in the town of Oneonta._

_The homeowner who was victimized is offering the reward._

_Calls to the NYSP public information officer weren't returned on Friday, but it's believed to be the same theft that was detailed __here__, and included a huge haul of very nice, and very valuable cards including a near complete T206 set._

_Anyone with any information is asked to call the NY State Police._

Unfortunately, that one didn't sound like any of the missing god cards: Slifer, The Winged Dragon of Ra, or The Wicked Dreadroot. Each of them was one-of-one, meaning they were worth far more than $10,000. The only reason not to report their true value was if they were obtained through illegal means. More likely was the report had nothing to do with the god cards.

Cary had been searching ever since Matt told her about the missing cards. Hundreds of cards were reported stolen each month, and that was just in the US. For the sake of her sanity, she felt forced to limit her initial searches to the US and Japan. When she ran dry on those leads, she'd move on to China and the UK, but the god cards had been missing for six months. There was no telling for certain how far they could have gotten in that amount of time.

Some coincidence nagged at her, and so she decided to play a hunch. She picked up her phone and did a quick web search to find the phone number for one of her professors: Roger Baker. He was one of the faculty advisors in charge of the Red Dorm introducing first-year students to the Duel Academy environment, but at the moment he was on emergency medical leave, visiting his parents after his father had a heart attack. Mr. Baker was still alive, but he was eighty-six and Mrs. Baker welcomed the extra help ensuring he was taken care of. Cary hated to interrupt that, but it didn't stop her.

"Professor Baker."

His response came back hesitantly. "Cary Strickland? Is that you?"

"It is, sir. How's your dad doing?"

"He's doing better every day, thanks. Why in the world are you calling me now? Isn't it about six in the morning there?"

"Yes, but it's about eight in the morning where you are, and I've been up all night. Do you have a few minutes for me to give you the rundown before you decide whether or not you can help?"

He hummed for just a moment as he ran through a mental list. "Yeah, I've got a few minutes. What's up? I figure it must be important for you to call me directly."

"It is, Sarge." She called him that to prime him for what she had to share. Before he joined Duel Academy's staff as a duel professor, he had been a police detective, and a good one. "First, Matt called me from the god card tournament in Yasna. He says they are still missing three god cards: Slifer, Dreadroot, and Ra. I've been doing news searches to see any recent reports or sightings. There's a kid in Contra Costa County who reported a stolen Slifer the Sky Dragon. Authorities think his stolen card was a fake."

"Contra Costa County? It's no coincidence you called me while I'm nearby, then."

"You once told me there were no coincidences."

His smile could be heard over the phone. "Are you starting to come around?"

"Statistically speaking, I will never ignore the possibility of coincidence. This is probably nothing, but I also knew I couldn't just pass it up while you were nearby and just happen to have detective training."

Professor Baker sighed heavily through his nose. "Alright, Cary. Send me a link to the report and the kid's address. I've got a few things to take care of this morning, but I'll find time to head out and talk to the kid and the investigators."

"Done." Within fifteen seconds, everything Cary knew about the theft was transferred to Baker's phone.

"That's weird."

"What's weird?"

"The kid's address is just down the street from my dad's house."

"Seriously?" Cary froze for a moment while she uttered, "Uh… I refuse to accept that there are _no_ coincidences, but…"

"Yes, Cary. This coincidence seems too good to be true. Even if I thought you were paranoid, now I'd _have_ to check it out. Thanks for turning my trip into work."

She sighed amusedly. "Happy to help. At least now I don't feel like the only one trying to find these cards. Now, uh… I know I shouldn't have to say this, but be careful. Slifer is probably more high-end than anything you've ever investigated. People will go crazy to find or keep that card."


End file.
